Conduits
by AstroLatte
Summary: Though a seemingly happy family, Ash leaves Misty and their son Red behind to go on a journey and never returns. Twelve years later, Red, Green and Blue begin their own adventure to find that the world their parents left behind now holds higher stakes than Gym Badges.
1. Prologue

My father was a Pokémon master.

Okay, "was" may not be the correct term. He's probably still out there...at least Mom still thinks he is.

You see, my parents met when they were kids (Mom's told me this story, like, a zillion times). Dad was just a raggedy kid trying to train a Pikachu with a rope and rubber gloves, and Mom...well, Mom had a bike.

They became friends (kinda) and went on adventures. Pokémon battles were fought, friendships were made, and time passed. Mom became Cerulean City's Gym Leader after my aunts got tired of the job and Dad continued traveling. According to Dad, there was only so many places in the world he could go without going back to Mom. They were married a few months after he returned to Pallet Town, settling down in the living quarters of the Cerulean gym.

I was born with a love of Pokémon, Mom even jokes that when I was born I tried to grab a Poké Ball to catch the Chansey that delivered me. She always thinks she's so funny.

When I wasn't being spoiled rotten by my aunts, I was being babysat by Dad's Pikachu. Though it wasn't too hard to distract him with an apple or bottle ketchup.

Living in the gym I was surrounded by all kinds of Pokémon, mostly water-types. I still remember the size of Dad's Charizard and watching in awe as he rode him into the sky when he went out of town. When I was five, he let me ride along as he went to Viridian City to visit Uncle Gary. As we flew he would point out different towns and cities, telling me stories from his past about each one. When you're a kid it's easy to get caught up in something like that. You know, a happy childhood and all.

Then it ended.

All I remember is being woken up late at night, Mom and Dad were arguing (again) only this time it sounded different. Instead of Mom's usually bossy-tone, she sounded more like she was begging Dad not to do...something. I sat at the top of the staircase and watched as Dad pulled the red hat he always wore over his head. Mom grabbed his wrists, and I saw him turn to her. They stared at each other and then they both looked up at the staircase and saw me sitting there, hardly awake. Mom let him go and he climbed the stairs, taking me into his arms. He carried me back into my room, tucking me into bed like he always had.

I asked him what was going on and he ruffled my hair, telling me to be a good boy and to stay out of trouble until he got back.

When he left my room, he closed the door behind him. From my window I saw Charizard lift into the air like I had a thousand times.

Only this time he didn't come back home.

Whenever I asked Mom about it, she would get this distant look in her eyes and not answer, so I stopped asking.

I read newspapers, listened to the radio and watched TV - there was a lot of news about someone called Team Rocket but nothing about Dad. Eventually, I got tired of staying up late waiting for him. The newspapers and radio had moved on and so did I. I helped Mom at the Gym and made friends in the city - before I knew it I was old enough to go on my own Pokémon journey.

While most kids were going out to win badges, my destiny was different. I just didn't know it yet.


	2. The Cerulean Gym

Morning rose in Cerulean City, creeping through the windows of Cerulean gym's living quarters and traveling all the way up to the bedrooms. In the last down the hallway was a door covered in pictures of the world's most respected trainers, from Kanto's Lance to Sinnoh's Cynthia. Inside, the room was messy with clothes and shoes thrown haplessly around, on the far end of the room buzzed a TV showing highlights from the previous night's televised Pokémon tournament, across sat a bed, as messy as the rest of the room, where a teenage boy was sleeping.

"Bzzzzt! Bzzzt!" Rang the alarm clock of an Electabuzz that sat on the nightstand next to the bed. "Electro! Electro! Electabuzz!"

Groaning, the teenager rolled to his side and slapped the alarm clock's snooze button. Snuggling back into his blankets, he was still sleeping with his bedroom door crept open.

A poliwhirl waddled inside and made his way to the bed.

"Poly?" The Pokémon asked, shaking the boy softly. "Pol poly poliwhirl!"

"Nngggh," groaned the boy. "Five more minutes..."

"Poly!" The Poliwhirl frowned, crossing its arms, obviously not keen on letting the teen sleep any longer. He was ignored however, as the blankets seemed to have swallowed his sleeping companion whole.

A moment later a scream erupted through the Gym.

Downstairs, Misty was walking along the Gym's pool as she read a memo from one of the Gym's trainers.

"Oh," she said to herself as she licked her thumb to flip through another page on her clipboard. "Guess Red's up."

She left the pool to enter the living quarter's kitchen to be faced with her son who was now very awake, but also very wet and very angry. Misty had to cover her face with her clipboard to hide her laughter.

"Good morning, sweetie," she managed between snorts. "I see Poliwhirl made sure you were awake."

"If by awake you mean waterboarded," Red fumed. "I have an actual alarm you know."

"Oh relax," Misty said rolling her eyes as she made her way to their tea kettle. "It was only a little water-gun attack."

"It flooded my room!"

"You're leaving today anyway, so its not like you'll need it," she glanced at her watch. "And you better hurry if you want to make it to Pallet Town on time."

Looking at the time, Red frantically ran back to his room to finish packing, climbing over the various water-type Pokémon that lived with them.

"Out!" Red shouted, pointing at Poliwhirl who was currently jumping on his soaked bed.

The water-type pouted as he left and Red closed the door behind him, exhaling loudly. After changing into his t-shirt and jeans, he took his bag to triple-check that he had all his supplies. He grinned to himself at the thought of finally being able to train Pokémon that weren't water-types. Granted, he loved all types of Pokémon but being the son of the Cerulean City gym leader left him lacking in the diversity department.

He giddily thought of the look on his mother's face when he would defeat her prized Starmie with a powerful razor leaf attack by his Bulbasaur. Or maybe give her a false sense of security when his Charmander, a would-be cakewalk, struck back with a ravaging mega-punch. Anyway, while Red wasn't set yet in which of the three Kanto starters he would pick, he was sure the one he had no interest in adopting was Squirtle. He had more than enough water gun attacks to the face to last him a lifetime.

As Red was packing the last of his things (did he really need so many pairs of socks?) the familiar coo of his aunts filled the hallway like a foreboding howl of a pack of wolves.

Quickly, he turned to his bedroom window, silently wondering if the fall would be survivable if he were to jump out.

"Awww! Our little Reddy is leaving for his Pokémon journey!"

Too late.

All three of his sensational aunts rushed into his room, hugging him so tightly that he felt as if he had suffered whiplash. While the growth-spurt he experienced in his early teens left Red a good head taller than his aunts, that didn't stop them from standing on the tiptoes of their heels to cover his face in sloppy lipstick stained kisses.

"Oh my god, Reddy! It feels like just yesterday you were, like, totally still in diapers," sobbed Daisy as Lily and Violet nodded in agreement. "Now you're, like, totally seventeen and going out on your own!"

"It's, like, so totally weird that you grew up like so fast," Violet added.

"Totally," nodded Lily.

Red laughed awkwardly, knowing better than to remind them that growing older is not weird at all but what happens to everyone.

He was saved by the call of his mother calling him to the kitchen.

Red threw his backpack over his shoulder as he made his way downstairs, his still sobbing aunts following him like an unfortunate entourage.

"What's wrong with you three?" Misty asked, making a face at her old sisters who looked like they were sending her son off to war.

"Seriously, baby sis, you don't seem at all upset that your ONLY son is leaving the nest!" shot Lily as Misty rolled her eyes at her dramatic sister.

"He's going to be back in two weeks to get his Cascade Badge."

"Oh my god, you're actually going to make him battle you?!" Daisy gasped.

"Um, yeah?" Misty replied taking a sip of her tea. "I am the Gym Leader, you know."

"So cold," hissed Violet. Red and his mother exchanged exasperated looks. "You're so stern, that's why everyone thinks you're the oldest."

The bell to the side door rang as a young girl in a white hat made her way into the kitchen.

"Oh," smiled Misty, ignoring Violet's comment and turning to the brunette girl. "Good morning, Blue!"

Red turned to face his childhood friend who was currently sporting a white hat, blue tank-top and red skirt. She smiled as she adjusted her backpack on her shoulder.

"Hi Misty," Blue beamed, giving the other women a warm greeting before turning to Red. "Wow, I'm surprised you're awake."

"Way to say hello before criticizing me," Red shot, rolling his eyes at the girl. "And I'll have you know I had my alarm set."

"Poliwhirl's water gun attack?" Blue asked Misty, ignoring Red completely.

"A gym leader never reveals her secrets," Misty winked and with a groan Red marched to the counter to shove a piece of freshly cooked toast into his mouth.

"Hey, morning glory," Blue said, turning to Red who had hopped onto the kitchen counter for a seat. "Did you notice anything different about me?"

Red chewed on his toast as Blue spun around before him, posing with her hand on her hip.

"Uh, I dunno," he said, his words muffled by the toast in his mouth. "Haircut?"

"You are your father's son," Misty murmured as she buried her head in her hands.

"No, stupid!" Blue barked, cheeks flushed. "Gran brought me a new outfit for our journey!"

"Oh..." Red said, blinking. He liked to think that being raised in a house full of women would give him some kind of clue, but females were just too complicated. "Uh...cool?"

Blue huffed, crossing her arms and mumbling something under her breath. Shrugging, Red jumped off the counter.

"Well, we should get going anyway," he braced himself as he aunts tackled him again before turning to his mother, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Don't do anything stupid," Misty smiled, reaching up to pull her son's hat over his eyes. He laughed, adjusting it so his dark hair wasn't completely in his eyes. "Make sure to tell your Uncle Gary I say hello."

"No problem," he smiled. "Love you."

After throwing on a light jacket he made his way outside, where he was greeting by a bike, an object that wasn't there this morning.

"Ta-da!" Blue cheered, running from behind him and presenting it to him as if it had appeared through a magic trick. "Pretty cool, huh? It was the second part of Gran's gift. With this we can get to Pallet Town in no time!"

"Wow," said Red after letting out a long whistle. He ran his fingers over the handlebars before turning to the girl. "This is a nice bike!"

"Of course!" Blue grinned, crossing her arms and grinning. "Gran said it'd be a lot eas- WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

Red blinked, sitting on the bike, looking ready to go.

"Uh, sitting," he said, pointing to the handlebars. "C'mon, get on the handles so we can get going."

"What..." Blue shook her head, stomping her foot in anger. "No! Its MY bike so I get to ride it! Get your own!"

"But I don't have one," Red said simply, knocking back the kickstand with his heel. "And you said the bike will get us to Pallet quicker."

"Yes, but I wanna peddle it!"

"Okay, but do you really want to try to bike with me on the handlebars?" Red asked as Blue continued to pout but reluctantly hopped on top of her own bike's handlebars.

"You better not look at my butt!" Blue snapped, her cheeks pink.

Red's face grew hot as he quickly turned away with a snort.

"As if I wanna look at your mushy jigglypuff butt," he barked as he pushed off the bike.

Blue fell backwards slightly with a gasp and Red felt his heart beat faster as a few strands of her soft, brown hair flew by his nose. The scent of her shampoo was familiar and lingering. He snapped back to reality when he heard his passenger shout with a laugh as he began to peddle down the road.

"We're off to Pallet Town!"


	3. Oak Laboratory

Red skidded to a stop in front of Oak Laboratory as Blue gracefully hopped off the handlebars. They made pretty good time considering the "short-cut" Red took through Diglett's Cave that led them face-to-face with an angry Dugtrio. Luckily Blue had packed some Max Repel and a few seconds of frantic screaming later, they were just outside of Viridian Forest.

"Next time," growled Blue, picking the last strands of dirt and rock from her hair. "I peddle and _you_ walk!"

Red rolled his eyes and leaned the bike against the sign outside. As Blue ranted and scolded him for being "the worst cyclist in the entire universe" Red took a moment to reflect on where he was. Pallet Town, the place where all Kanto trainers take their first steps with their Pokémon.

It was also the childhood home to his father.

Red pushed that mixed feeling to a place where he put all his feelings about his long estranged father - suppressed deep inside where he wouldn't have to deal with it unless he ever had to go to therapy. And by the sounds of Blue's scolding that would probably be sooner than later.

"Hey!" Red heard from overhead, and him and Blue quickly looked up to see a spiky-haired teen with green eyes sitting on top of the lab. "Glad to see you guys made it."

"Hey, Green!" Red greeted as he watched the boy pack up his binoculars. "Whatcha doing up there? Helping your dad with his research?"

Green skidded down the ladder that rested on the side of the building, heading over to Red and giving his best friend a bro-hug.

"Sorta," Green shrugged turning to Blue. His cheeks tinted slightly at the sight of the still peeved brunette. "Oh...um...hello, Blue. You look..."

"Like I just escaped the angry wrath of a Dugtrio?" Blue snapped, shooting another look at Red. "You'd be surprised what your idiot friend here thinks counts for a short-cut!"

"Would you let it go?" Red sighed, exhausted. "We're alive aren't we?"

Blue crossed her arms tightly, mumbling something under her breath that Red assumed were curses against him.

"Anyway," Red said, turning away from Blue to his best friend. "Where's your dad? I'm ready for my starter!"

"He's inside," Green said with a laugh, throwing his backpack over his shoulder as he opened the door of the lab. Red and Blue followed him inside, making sure to wipe the leftover mud from the Dugtrio incident on the welcome mat.

They followed Green to the back of the lab, passing several Aides dressed in white coats exchanging notes on clipboards and vials of strange substances.

"Wow," said Red, turning to Green. "I always forget how big this place is inside."

Green shrugged, "Dad's done a lot of...expanding since mom passed away."

Red nodded silently, understanding all too well how the absence of a parent can affect a family. Green trekked on ahead, stopping in a room with books stacked from the floor to the ceiling. In the far corner stood a ladder, and perched on top was none other than Gary Oak nose deep in a textbook.

"Yo, Dad!" Green called.

"Unless the lab is on fire," Gary called from the ladder. "Come back later."

"Excuse him," Green said, slapping his forehead with his hand, "He can get a little wrapped up in his research."

Red and Blue exchanged looks as Green kicked his father's ladder, causing it to sway.

"Hey!" Gary called, ripping his nose from his book. "What's the big i- Oh hey, son!"

Instantly the young professor's tune changed as he threw his book over his shoulder and slid down the ladder with a style only Gary Oak could master.

"Did you finish mapping the Sparrow's flight pattern?" Gary asked his son, putting his reading glasses in the breast pocket of his lab coat.

"Yeah, but Red and Blue are here," said Green, handing his father the backpack. "You said we could get our starters once we were all together, right?"

Gary's attention peaked at the mention of the two other teens, and for the first time since entering the room it appeared he realized that his son was not the only other person in the room. He smiled when he saw Red.

"Red Ketchum," he grinned, hugging the young man tightly before letting him go, resting both hands on his shoulders. "Holy crap, you've gotten taller!"

Red laughed nervously as Gary forced him and Green to stand back-to-back, comparing height. The two teens were similar, with Red having a few centimeters on Green. Though it was hard to tell due to Green's spiky chestnut hair and Red's hat.

"It's insane to think you kids are already seventeen," murmured Gary under his breath, as if just realizing how old his son and friend were. "Anyway, how's Mom? She still showing her sisters how to run a Gym?"

"Yeah," Red said, smiling. "She sends her love."

"Pfft," Gary said making a face. "I'd prefer if she came over here to visit every so often. Your grandmother does too - oh, that reminds me. You better stop by there before you leave, she'd kill me if you didn't."

Red's face blanched, though nobody seemed to notice. Gary moved his attention to the brown-haired girl, who was uncharacteristically quiet for most of the meeting.

"Oh! Sorry, Uncle Gary this is Blue," Red said snapping from his own mind and introducing the girl. "She was my neighbor in Cerulean."

Gary smirked, "Ah, yes, I remember Green saying something about her."

At the mention of this, Green froze though Red couldn't see why. They had all been friends since they were kids, of course Green would say something about Blue.

"Um...hello, Professor Oak," Blue blushed with a bow. "T-thank you for letting me have a Pokémon of my own!"

Red and Green looked puzzled while Gary let out a snort before bellowing into full laughter.

"Geez, kid, relax," he laughed, motioning the trio to follow him. "I'm giving you your first Pokémon, not sacrificing you to Cinnabar's volcano!"

Green attempted to smile reassuring as Blue's blushed deepened. Red just raised an eyebrow, was he missing something?

"S-sorry, Professor Oak!" she stammered as her words seemed to escape her (for once). "It's just that...I...I...I AM A HUGE FAN OF YOUR WORK!"

At this outburst everyone froze, especially Gary who blinked twice before Blue was on a roll.

"Your studies on eeveelutions have been a huge part of my _life_ since the second grade! Your paper on the discovery of Leafeon and Glaceon completely revolutionized the modern Pokédex!"

Green and Red watched as Gary's expression went from puzzled, intrigued, to arrogant. With a chuckle, he placed a hand on his hip.

"Well, you know, it wasn't that impressive," he said with a smirk. "I mean, what kind of scientist would I be if I didn't travel all the way to Sinnoh to level up an Eevee by an ice rock, right?"

"B-but that's just the brilliance of it!" Blue babbled. "Your genius on the behavior of such a rare and beautiful Pokémon is what inspired me to want to become a trainer!"

Green and Red winced. Using the words "brilliance" and "genius" to describe Gary Oak was a stroke his ego did not need.

Gary shot the young girl a dashing smile, ignoring the groans of protest by his son and Red.

"Would you be interested in seeing what I'm currently working on?"

"YES!" Blue squealed, nearly trampling over the two boys to follow Gary into another room. Green groaned, burying his head in his hands while Red pouted.

"Dude," Red said turning to Green. "If we don't get our starters cause your dad is too busy boinking my neighbor, I'm gonna be _so_ pissed."

"Shut up!" Green yelled, punching his friend in the arm.

"Yo," Gary called, peeking his head back to the hallway. "Stop screwing around and get in here too."

The boys followed and the first thing Red noticed were the three Poké Balls sitting on the table. His heart jumped into his throat...this was really happening.

As he made his way towards the table he noticed on the ground sat Blue, cooing over a litter of three baby Eevees. Green thumbed the bed.

"Dad's main research is on Eevee breeding and evolutions," he explained. "Umbreon just gave birth to her first litter since I was born. It's kinda a big deal if you're into that sorta thing."

Red watched as Gary picked up a small pup and handed it to Blue, who looked like she was going to die or explode at any moment.

"Umbreon was my starter back when she was just a little Eevee," Gary explained, rubbing his starter behind the ears as she laid with her pups. Blue's eyes widened, turning to Gary who read her mind.

"Sorry, but these pups are far too young for any battling," he smiled, taking the tiny Pokémon from the girl. "But if you end up being a good enough trainer...well, we'll see."

Blue made a face, and Red seriously wondered if the girl was going to be okay after this meeting.

"T-thank you, Professor Oak!" she squealed.

"Also, call me Gary," the man laughed, walking to the table with the three Poké Balls. "Professor Oak is my grandfather."

"O-of course," Blue stammered and Red gave Gary a look of annoyance.

"Now that you've sent Blue into a catatonic state," he said crossing his arms. "Can we _please_ pick our Pokémon now?!"

Shaking his head, Gary led the teens to the table.

"Here's the drill," he explained. "Three Poké Balls, and three kids. From left to right you have Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle. You're gonna pick one at a time, got it?"

The trio nodded.

"Good," Gary smirked and nodded at his son. "Green, you go first."

Green looked shocked for a moment before nodding, heading over to the table with nervous ambition.

"Professor's Pet," Red mumbled under his breath, earning a pinch on the arm from Blue.

After studying the table for a moment, Green reached to the far left and picked up the ball holding a Bulbasaur.

"I choose Bulbasaur," he said, tossing the ball in the air. In a flash of red the tiny, green Pokémon appeared.

"Bulbasaur?" Bulbasaur grunted, examining the room.

"Hey, Bulbasaur," Green smiled, kneeling down so he was nose-to-nose with the tiny grass-type. He extended his hand as a show of goodwill. "I'm Green. I look forward to adventuring with you!"

Bulbasaur took a few steps forward, smelling the boy's hand before licking it fondly.

"Bulba!" Bulbasaur cheered, happy with his new trainer. "Bul bulba saur!"

"Amazing," Gary smirked as his son recalled his new Pokémon. "I've never seen a Bulbasaur take to its trainer so quickly before! Amazing, Green!"

"Oh...um...thanks, dad." Green smiled, turning back to his friends.

"Next is-" Gary began before being interrupted by his ringing Pokégear. "Oh, hold up one sec."

Gary walked out of the room, answering the Pokégear in the hallway. Back in the office, Blue turned to Green.

"Must be cool to have a dad that's such an important guy," she said. Green shrugged, attaching his new Bulbasaur's Poké Ball to his belt holster.

"I guess."

Gary made his way back to the room, Red noticed how his expression quickly changed from stern to friendly.

"Bad news, kiddies," Gary said, grabbing a bag that sat on a nearby desk. "I just got called to an assignment."

Green's face hardened as his father passed them, reaching for the three red devices next to the Poké Balls on the table.

"Here are your Pokédex," Gary explained, exchanging his lab coat for his windbreaker. "Those also act as your trainer IDs so don't lose them."

"But what about our Pokémon?" Red asked, miffed.

"Oh that?" Gary said with a shrug. "You and Blue figure out who gets the last two and then you're off!"

Red and Blue exchanged looks before glancing at the two balls on the table. He knew which starter he didn't want, and he had a feeling that he was about to fight Blue for the other.

"If you guys have any questions feel free to ask one of my aides."

"Dad?" Green asked and Gary stopped in his tracks to look at his son. After a moment, Gary rested his hand on Green's shoulder with a smile.

"I'm proud of you, kiddo, and your mom would be too," he said, before turning to leave. "Smell ya kids later!"

The room's door closed with a bang, leaving the three teenagers alone with a some dusty old books and a couple of Poké Balls.


	4. Starters

"Alright, guess I'll go first."

Blue extended her arm, blocking Red as he motioned towards the table.

"Excuse you," she snapped. "Haven't you ever heard the term 'ladies first'?"

Frowning, Red crossed his arms, "Funny, I don't see any ladies."

Blue's cheeks reddened and Green ended the argument with a curt whistle.

"You are not going to bicker over this," the green-eyed teen explained, pulling a coin out of his pocket. "Instead, I'm going to flip this coin and whoever calls it right gets to pick first."

Blue and Red glowered at each other. Green sighed exasperatedly.

"Call it in the air," he said, flipping the coin upwards with his thumb.

"HEADS!" Red called desperately.

Green caught the coin mid-air, slamming it on the top of his hand with a slap. He looked at his two friends, mouths agape like a pair of hungry Ekans. He rolled his eyes and lifted his hand slowly.

"Tails," he said and Blue jumped, fisting the air. "Blue picks first, Red you shut the hell up."

"I didn't even say anything," Red mumbled and watched as Blue skipped to the table.

"Hmmmm," she said, taping her chin with her index finger. "Let's see...which one of these cuties should I take..."

As Blue hummed and hawed at the tiny devices, Red crossed his arms tightly and began tapping his foot impatiently.

"You okay there, buddy?" Green asked, raising an eyebrow.

Red didn't answer, instead he tapped his foot even louder. He had known Blue since they were kids and she always knew how to get under his skin.

"Hey Blue," Green said, turning to the girl. "You better pick before Red taps a hole into my Dad's office floor."

"Oh, sorry, I didn't realize I was taking so long," Blue said, faking surprise. "I choose...Charmander!"

Red winced and Green saw it, sending him a look.

"You should change the way you're thinking about your starter," Green said low enough so only the two of them could hear. "Pokémon read emotions better than humans can and first impressions are important."

Red felt a pang of shame at the bluntness of Green's words, but he knew he was right. He watched as Blue called her Charmander for the first time, and instantly the tiny fire-type jumped into her arms. A connection was made, and wouldn't be broken.

"C'mon Red," the young girl said as Charmander climbed onto her shoulder, playfully taking her hat and sniffing it before putting it on his own head. "Pick your Pokémon!"

Red nodded, swallowing hard as he picked up the last Poké Ball.

"Squirtle," he called, throwing the ball in the air. "I choose you!"

In a flash of red, the tiny water-type emerged landing with a thud on the table. Red blinked, as the tiny Squirtle yawned.

"Aw, he's sleepy," laughed Blue. "Just like its trainer!"

Red flicked her a particular finger with a sneer before turning to the tiny Pokémon.

"Hey," he said extending his hand. "I'm Red."

The Squirtle sniffed his hand before moving back and spitting his own tiny paw before shaking Red's heartily.

Red made a face while the tiny turtle laughed.

"Looks like you have your hands full there," said Green, turning around. "Okay, lemme grab my bag from upstairs and we'll be on our way."

Blue held the tiny fire-type in her arms, bending forward to smile at the Squirtle.

"Hi Squirtle," she beamed. "I'm Blue and this is Charmander, we'll going to be going on a journey together! It's nice to meet you!"

Red raised an eyebrow as Squirtle took a few steps forward towards Blue. Protectively, Charmander jumped from her arms, standing in front of his trainer. The two Pokémon glared at each other, sizing the other up.

"Uh oh," Blue said under her breath. Red remained silent, curious to see how the opposite types interacted.

After a moment of tension, both Pokémon jumped forward and exchanged high-fives before turning to their trainers laughing.

"Oh," Blue sighed in relief. "I guess they're friends."

"Funny joke," Red said raising Squirtle's Poké Ball to return him. "Okay, back in you go."

"Squirt!" Squirtle grunted, sidestepping the red beam before turning to Red. "Squirtle! Squirt! Squirt!"

"Huh...you don't wanna go in your ball yet?"

The water Pokémon nodded, and Red looked at his ball. Blue turned to her friend as Charmander climbed back into her embrace.

"I don't see the problem with it," she said, holding the now beaming fire-type. "It can be a good way to get to know each other."

"I guess," Red mumbled. "Okay, you can stay out - but you gotta behave yourself!"

Squirtle chirped happily, climbing up Red's pant leg to his shoulder, grabbing his hat and grinning. Red sighed, of course he would get the starter with an attitude problem.

Green returned shortly, leading his friends to the front of the lab where they were stopped by one of Gary's frantic aides.

"SIR!" said the Aide loudly, thumbing the front of the lab. "MRS. KETCHUM IS OUT FRONT!"

"My mom?" Red asked raising an eyebrow.

"NO, WORSE," the Aide shrieked. "YOUR GRANDMOTHER!"

Blue and Green turned to Red, who was currently sweating, his ears as red as his namesake.

"Um," he stammered, "I'll take that out-"

"REDDY!"

"Damn," Red grumbled before he was tackled by his grandmother. The force Delia Ketchum propelled herself at was enough to send Squirtle flying into Green's arms and Red to suffer whiplash.

"Hi Grandma," Red said, his words muffled in her dress and the fact that he was pretty sure his lungs had collapsed.

Dehlia pushed Red away, frowning as she held him by the shoulders.

"Reddy!" she frowned. "You weren't going to leave without visiting me, were you?"

"N-no!" Red laughed nervously, "Why would I do that?"

Green and Blue exchanged a knowing glance.

"Good! Because I went through the trouble of packing all your stuff for you!"

"Wha?" Red stammered as Dehlia dropped what appeared to be a 50 pound backpack from seemingly nowhere. "B-but I have a bag, Grandma..."

"Yes, but knowing your mother she didn't pack you nearly enough underwear, so I bought you a dozen packs," Dehlia explained and Red felt his soul leave his body as she pulled out enough tighty-whities (which he never wore, he was more of a boxer guy) to fit an army. Green and Blue doubled-over in laughter and suddenly the old woman noticed the two teens.

"Oh! Green! Blue! There you are," Delia smiled, pushing pass Red's catatonic form to reach them. "I packed for you too - Blue I made sure to pack extra you-know-what's for your time of the month!"

Everyone froze - even the lab's staff who were trying incredibly hard to not pay attention to the embarrassing exchange.

Smiling, Delia handed the three teens their bags before tapping her chin.

"Oh that reminds me, Blue is that your bike outside?"

With what little will power she had left, Blue nodded. Delia tisk'd as if the teenage girl had deeply disappointed her, but nobody could feel anything under their awkward mortification.

"That won't do," Delia said, making her way towards the front of the lab. "All three of you walking across Kanto together is the most important part of your journey. Don't worry, I'll bring your bike to my place and you can pick it up on your way to the Indigo League. Have fun, kids!"

And just like a tornado, Delia Ketchum had come in, caused havoc and left.

"Yeah," Red managed, "See you later, Grandma."


	5. Viridian City

"I cannot believe your Grandmother took my bike," Blue huffed as they waded their way through tall grass on their way towards Viridian City. In front of them, the trio's Pokémon were making steady work of the wild Pokémon on route.

"You could've said no," Green said pointedly before turning to his Bulbasaur. "Bulbasaur, vine whip!"

From his bulb, Bulbasaur's vines shot like rockets, attacking the wild Pidgey.

"Yeah, so quit whining," Red said, turning to his Squirtle with a groan. "No Squirtle! Don't use water gun on that Caterpie! I said tackle! Tackle!"

Red ran to Squirtle's side to explain his battle strategy, only to have the water-type spit a stream of liquid in his face before doubling over in hysterics.

Blue rolled her eyes as her Charmander made quick work of another Rattata.

"Char char!" Charmander cheered as Blue ran to his side for a hug. "Charmander!"

"Way to go, Charmander!" Blue smiled and turned to see that Green had caught the Pidgey he was battling. "Woah, look at Mr. Hot Shot over here with his new catch!"

Green turned scarlet, quickly looking down at his Poké Ball to avoid eye contact.

"Um...I figured it would be good to have a flying-type," he explained. "Especially as we venture deeper into the woods."

"Makes sense," Blue nodded, motioning to Red who was still struggling with the Caterpie his Squirtle was attempting to "fight". "Looks like Red could use a flying-type right about now."

Green nodded, calling his newly caught Pidgey to action.

"Pidgey, use gust!"

Feeling the wind, Red grabbed Squirtle as the gust of wind and dirt carried away the Caterpie deep within the forest. As the dust settled, he stood angrily.

"What's the big idea?" Red called, Squirtle climbing from his arms to his shoulder with a frown. "You could've sent us flying!"

"Sorry Red, I was just testing Pidgey's strength," Green explained, petting the tiny bird's soft feathers. "I didn't know how powerful this little guy was."

Red mumbled something under his breath before stomping out of the tall grass.

"Guess he's not a flying-type fan," Green shrugged, returning Pidgey to its ball.

Still peeved, Red ventured further through the route, Blue and Green behind him. Squirtle tapped his shoulder before pointing to a sign in front of them.

"Huh," Red said looking at the sign before turning to his friends. "We're at Viridian City already."

Blue threw her fist in the air with a victorious cheer and pulled out her Pokégear.

"Oh, it looks like there's a Pokémon Center and Mart not too far off," she explained as they ventured into the city. "There's also a Gym, but it's for the Earth Badge."

"That's annoying to have the final badge so close to Pallet," Red said stuffing his hands in his pockets. "It means we're going to have to come all the way back here when we're done."

"At least it gives you an excuse to see your Grandma again incase you run out of clean underwear," Blue teased sneakily.

"Hopefully it's during your time of the month so we'll both be covered," Red shot back, causing the girl to turn red with fury.

"Can you guys at least try to get along?" Green frowned, stepping between the two teens. "You seriously need-"

Green's lecture was interrupted by a loud explosion.

"What the hell?" Red exclaimed before the three teens were covered by a heavy gust of dirt and debris. He held Squirtle tightly against his chest, protectively.

"Char! Char!" Charmander called from its trainer's shoulder.

"I got you, Charmander," Blue called, reaching out her hands. "Red? Green? Where are you guys?"

"Right here," Red called, taking her hand, briefly surprised by its warmth and softness. The thought was quickly shot from his brain when he noticed a missing party member.

"Green?" he called, suddenly coughing from the dust.

Reaching for his waist, he pulled out Squirtle's ball, returning his starter. Blue mimicked his actions before pulling the taller teen along, hoping to escape the dust vortex. Eventually the cloud faded, leaving them soot covered and on a random street in the city.

Green was nowhere to be found, but Red noticed something else missing. Letting go of Blue, he reaching over his shoulder and he felt that his backpack was missing. Frantically, he looked around to spot his bag...making its way down the street.

"H-hey!" Red yelled, running after the seemingly haunted backpack.

"Red?" Blue called, confused and not wanting to lose another friend in the city. "Red, get back here! We don't know what's going on!"

Red ignored her, quickening his pace as he chased his mobile bag out of the city and onto Route 22. He heard Blue's footsteps behind them, huffing and puffing as her lungs tried to expel the debris. The bag led them to a field of tall grass, but by the time Red and Blue arrived the bag was deep within the grass.

"Red, what's going-"

"Shh!" Red hushed her, his eyes narrowing as he glared along the grass. "Something stole my bag...I think it's a Pokémon."

"A Pokémon?" Blue blinked looking around the grass for herself. "Route 22 leads to the Indigo League, Red. This could be a really powerful Pokémon we're dealing with."

"There's only one way to find out."

From on the corner of his eye, Red noticed the scarlet strap of his backpack within the grass. Slowly, he made his way towards it, virtually silent as he crouched down into the grass. Like a cat, Red pounced, grabbing the backpack and revealing the tiny, blue Pokémon beneath.

"Riolu!" it hissed, jumping up from the grass. "Riolu ri!"

"Riolu?" Blue tilted her head, pulling out her Pokédex towards the tiny dog-like creature.

"Riolu, the Emanation Pokémon," the Pokédex recalled. "It has the peculiar power of being able to see emotions such as joy and rage in the form of waves."

"Ha!" Red laughed, puffing his chest as he threw his bag over his shoulder. "You thought you were pretty sneaky taking my bag! But nah-uh, small fry!"

The Riolu bristled.

"Its body is little yet powerful," Blue's Pokédex continued. "It can crest three mountains and cross two canyons in one night."

"Uh...Red…" Blue warned, "Maybe you should stop teasing it."

"Oh relax, I'm not teasing it," Red smirked, crouching down to eye-level with the Riolu. "Alright tiny, hopefully this will teach you to not take things that aren't yours, eh? Especially when they're a good meter taller than you!"

Red extended his hand, causing the Riolu to bare its teeth.

"Riolu!" it growled, taking Red's hand and sending him soaring into a cluster of trees.

"Red!" Blue screamed, running to her friend's side. "Red, are you okay?"

Taking advantage of the commotion, Riolu took hold of the backpack and fled into the forest.

Raising himself up slowly, Red cursed under his breath before taking hold of Blue by the arm and chasing after the tiny Pokémon.

"R-Red!" Blue called as the tall teen dragged her around bushes and trees. "Red! I think you're going about this the wrong way!"

Red ignored her, and continued his hunt for the Riolu. After a few moments, they neared a hollowed log where at one end the tiny Riolu was trying to push the overstuffed backpack through the tiny opening. Blue pulled her arm away and Red turned to see she had stopped, a finger pressed against her lips, signaling him to keep quiet.

"Riolus are really sensitive to auras," she explained in a low voice. "You need to calm down or else he'll sense us here."

Red frowned before turning away from the girl, squatting down behind a tree stump and breathing deeply in an effort to calm himself. He didn't feel like he was doing much, but considering the Riolu hadn't noticed them, it must've done something. He felt his heart quicken (probably due to excitement, or whatever) when Blue rested her hand on his shoulder. He looked over his shoulder to see that she had kneeled next to him, watching the Riolu still struggling.

"It must need your bag for something," she whispered, unaware of how hot Red's face was getting due to her insistence on being so close to him. "And I bet you it's beyond that log...we should help it."

"Yeah sure," he rolled his eyes, gently shrugging off Blue's hand from his shoulder. "Let's help the thieving Pokémon, I'm sure that will go over well."

Blue shot him a look but was distracted by the Riolu's cry of glee as it pushed the backpack through the open end of the log, jumping inside after it.

"Quick," she said, jumping to her feet. "Let's trail it quietly."

Crawling beyond the now expanded log end, the two trainers uncovered a small clearing beyond the bushes. There they saw the Riolu digging through Red's bag in search of something, while a tiny yellow Pokémon writhed in pain.

"Oh no!" Blue gasped, "Is that a Pikachu?"

"No," Red said, shaking his head, "It's a Pichu."

Wanting a better look, Blue took a few steps forward. However, their position was discovered quickly as she cracked a twig beneath her sneakers. Red shot her a look as the Riolu jolted to attention. Sighing in defeat, Red slowly made his way out of the bushes, his hands raised in a sign of surrender.

"Relax," he said walking slowly with Blue trailing behind him. "We come in peace."

The Riolu stand quickly changed to hostile and Red kneeled to be eye-level with the Pokémon.

"Listen, all I want is my bag back," Red explained thumbing the backpack. "But I see why you took it...it's to help your friend, right?"

With his teeth barred, the Riolu's eyes quickly glanced at the hurt Pichu before meeting Red's.

"You just want to help your friend, right?" Red continued. "We'll help you, I promise. I know a few things about little guys like him, but you need to trust us, okay?"

The Riolu didn't budge.

"Riolu," Blue said, breaking the silence and instantly gaining the Pokémon's attention. "You can check our auras. We aren't going to hurt you, I promise."

Blue's soothing voice seemed to relax the Riolu, and his eyes grew cloudy as his senses scanned Red and Blue. After a moment, it appeared their auras were good as Riolu took a few steps towards Blue, leaving Red space to help the injured Pichu.

"Red," Blue said worriedly. "Do you know what you're doing?"

He shushed her, taking the tiny Pokémon in his hands and examining it. After running a finger across the Pichu's red cheeks, Red knew the cause of its illness. Gently he placed the small creature onto the grass and turned to Blue.

"Hey, hand me my backpack."

The girl nodded, handing him the overstuffed bag. Red's head seemed to disappear as he dug inside, eventually pulling out his Pokégear charger cradle. Nervously, Riolu shook as Blue gathered him up in her arms. The blue Pokémon didn't protest, but rather clung to her shirt anxiously.

"Hang in there little guy," Red said softly as he gently lifted the wheezing electric-type onto the cradle. He glanced up at Blue as he gently massaged the Pichu's red cheeks. "Since they hold so much power, sometimes electric-types short circuit themselves"

"So it needs to discharge?" Blue asked, tilting her head to the side. Red nodded and quickly smiled as Pichu's cheeks began to spark. Within moments the tiny yellow mouse's eyes opened as it released a surge of energy into the charger.

"The charger is acting like a circuit," Red explained. "Once he gets some bolts out he should be fine."

Blue watched in awe as Pichu released waves of electricity from its tiny body. When he was through Riolu jumped from her arms, landing on the ground next to its friend.

"Riolu?"

"Chu?" Pichu asked warily before noticing its surroundings. Excitedly it turned to its friend. "Pichu! Chu pi chu chu!"

After putting away the charger, Red rose to his feet.

"Nice to see you doing better," he grinned as he tossed his backpack over his shoulder. "Your buddy here was nervous about you."

Pichu turned to Red before looking back at Riolu.

"Now we need to find our friend," Blue smiled warmly at the two tiny Pokémon. She reached into the pocket of her skirt, pulling out a few Oran Berries. "Here, take these to heal up."

Taking the berries into his paws, the tiny Riolu made a face but Red couldn't quite put his finger on the emotion it showed. It was almost as if the tiny thing was disappointed.

Red was ripped from his thoughts as Blue took him by the arm.

"C'mon," she said curtly. "We gotta find Green."

Red nodded, looking over his shoulder to send one last wave to their small friends.


	6. Team Flare

The second Green heard the explosion, he was off like a rocket.

Holding his breath, Green reached into his pocket to pull out a handkerchief and pressed it against his face like a mask. Luckily, he knew the streets of Viridian City by heart and had a sinking feeling when he heard the direction where the explosion came from.

"Pidgey, go!" Green called, throwing the ball of his newly caught Pokémon into the air. "Use gust!"

With a cry, Pidgey flew from its ball and unleashed a mighty gust attack with its wings. Following its trainer, the two hurried down the streets in front of the Viridian City gym. Green's heart sank as he saw Officer Jenny with her men and herds of Growlithe barricading the area. Pidgey landed on his shoulder as his eyes roamed the area, setting on the exploded roof of the gym.

"If you're worried about your father, Green. You should know he was captured."

Green turned on his heel to see a thin blond teen sporting a straw hat and sitting on the back of a Dodrio. While not looking it, Green could tell it was a girl from the pitch of her voice, but her androgynous outfit and nature was apparent. Still, Green felt his cheeks blush as talking to women, no matter where they fell on the femininity scale, often proved difficult.

"Who are you?" Green asked and the girl hopped from the Dodrio, seemingly ignoring his question. His cheeks grew hot as she came closer, and he swallowed thickly as she extended her hand.

"Here," she said, handing him an envelope. "This is for you."

"Uh, thanks?" Green managed, taking a large step back from the girl who obviously didn't recognize personal space. "But who are-"

The Dodrio sped off before he could finish. Frowning, Green opened the letter.

_Don't worry, we'll get him back. Keep going. - A_

"Easy for you to say," Green grumbled under his breath as he stuffed the letter into his breast pocket.

He crossed his arms as the police continued their search, though he was sure they didn't know what they were even looking for.

"Hey Pidgey, do me a favor," Green said as the tiny bird took off from his shoulder. "Protrol the area and let me know if you see anything suspicious. Like someone coming or going who looks like they shouldn't be."

With a squawk Pidgey nodded and took to the air. From below, Green quickly made his way around the Gym and turned into an abandoned alley. It was filled with trash, but he noticed something that probably went undetected by the police - a single boot mark in the middle of a trash bag. Most likely covered-up by the stench of the garbage, Green looked up to see the dangling ladder of a fire-escape.

"Bingo."

Green took a few steps back and gave himself a running start, jumping high and grabbing onto the ladder. Hoisting himself up, he climbed up to the side of the building and onto its roof.

"Let's see, if I was an evil domestic terrorist where would I stand..."

Pacing the roof he stopped when he hit the edge and looked down to see that he had a perfect vantage point of the top of Vermilion City Gym. From the corner of his eye Green saw Pidgey flying towards him, and he extended his arm for the bird.

Judging by the boot print, whoever was on the roof was alone, but judging by the damage of the Gym there were multiple parties involved. Were they a distraction? But for who?

Green saw the entire staff standing for questioning by the police, with the absence of one very important person, their leader.

Pidgey let out a small cry as it landed on Green's arm, motioning its tiny beak upwards. The teen looked up to see the silhouettes of Red and Blue making their way towards the gym.

"Good call," Green said, returning Pidgey to its ball. Swiftly, he made his way down the ladder and through the rapidly crowding streets. The explosion had caused some commotion.

"Yo!" Green called, waving his arm in the air to gain the attention of his friends. They ran to his side instantly, maneuvering through the crowd to do so.

"There you are!" Blue huffed as they met up. "We were scared we lost you during the commotion."

"Yeah sorry, guess I got lost with the shuffle," Green laughed lamely, as his eyes met Red's stern look.

Though the Viridian City Gym leader's identity was supposedly a secret being kept even by those awarded the Earth Badge, Red was probably the only trainer besides Green who knew that Gary Oak still ran the gym. Blue, however, was still left in the dark.

As Blue rubbernecked the police investigation, Red silently nodded towards the gym, not breaking eye-contact as Green shook his head sadly. Around them, the growing crowd mumbled and gaped at the damage of the gym, loudly questioning what had become of its mysterious leader.

Red watched as Blue wandered closer to the scene, only to be barked at by one of Jenny's Growlithe. He raised his eyebrow at the girl when she walked over, her face pucked in thought.

"What's with the face?" Red asked, arms crossed. "Upset that the Growlithe barked at you?"

"No," Blue said, turning slightly pink. "I thought I saw something on that wall over there...like a graffiti tag or something."

"A graffiti tag?" Green looked over towards the Gym, though the crowd made it hard to see anything.

"Here, I took a picture on my Pokégear," she explained, raising her wrist up so the projection from her Live Caster function could show them the picture. Both boys leaned in to see the image of what appeared to be a red swoosh scrawled onto the side of the Gym.

"What do you think it is?" Blue asked as Red shrugged.

"It definitely looks like some sort of gang tag," Green said rubbing his chin. "I think we can head over to the Pokémon Center and do some research."

"Sounds good," Blue said smiling. "The case of the missing mysterious Gym Leader!"

Green let out a forced laugh as Blue and him walked ahead of Red, who had stopped in his tracks. Spinning around, he noticed a cardboard box sitting next to them that wasn't there before. As he neared it, it suddenly began to...tremble?

"Red!" Green called, gaining the teen's attention. Red spun around to answer his friend, only to see that during his distraction the box had moved.

* * *

"Boxes don't just move, Red." Green explained as the trio walked into the Pokémon Center. "They tend to remain pretty stationary objects."

"Thanks for letting me know, Sherlock," Red said with an eyeroll. "That's why I'm saying that it was weird. Do you think it has something to do with the gym being attacked?"

"Maybe," Green said as they made their way to the PC. "But I don't think a cardboard box has the ability to take out the roof of a gym."

Red frowned at his friend who sent him a coy smile.

"Forget it," Red mumbled. "I'm going to go heal Squirtle."

"Sounds good," Green said booting up the PC. "Let me know if you find anymore boxes."

Red flicked him a rude gesture as he made his way to Nurse Joy's desk. Happily her assistant Chansey took his one Poké Ball as the pink-haired nurse scanned his Pokédex for ID.

"Oh, Ketchum?" Joy smiled. "Are you related to As-"

"Nope." Red said briskly, taking his Pokédex and Poké Ball back quickly. "Have a good one."

Leaning over the counter to get a second glimpse, Joy turned to Chansey with a shrug.

Red placed Squirtle's ball on his belt, not feeling completely safe letting him roam around considering the day's events. As he neared the computer his friends shared, his mind unconsciously noted how close Green and Blue were standing. He shook it off.

"Did you find anything?" Red asked, as he leaned over Blue's shoulder.

"Kinda," Blue said, moving aside so Red could read the screen. "They're definitely a gang, but they're natived to Kalos."

"Kalos?" Red whistled. "These guys must be some kind of fancy if they're from Kalos!"

"Yeah, and they're known for using explosives by mixing poison and fire-types during their attacks," Blue continued. "Explains the vantage point Green found on the roof - they probably went in from above so they could get right to the Gym Leader."

"But what would bring them here?" Red asked. "And why Gym Leaders?"

The trio stood in silence and Red noticed the faraway look in Green's eyes. Suddenly, there was a crash as behind them. The teens turned to see two tiny Pokémon had fallen from the waste basket.

"Riolu..." the Riolu groaned, eyes spinning from dizziness.

"Pichu..." the Pichu said, sharing its friend's sentiments.

"Ha! I knew it!" Red said, pointing to the tiny Pokémon. "I knew we were being followed!"

"Hey those are the Riolu and Pichu from before!" Blue exclaimed and Green rose an eyebrow at the girl, clearly confused. "When we got separated earlier Red and I helped these guys."

"Yeah, that's not what I'm curious about," Green said making his way to the tiny Pokémon. "See, Riolus aren't native to the Kanto Region, especially not near Viridian City."

Red and Blue watched as Green gently began to lightly scratch behind Riolu's ears, earning him a purr.

"Sometimes they overexert themselves and get tired," he continued. "They secretly like to be pampered."

"Wow, Green, you sure know a lot about this little guy," Blue noted as the Riolu purred louder against Green's hand.

"Oh, well," the spiky-haired teen stammered. "Riolus are fighting and steel-types, and my mom was a steel-type trainer so…"

Red's attention left his friends as he took a look at the Pichu in front of him, noticing its darker coat and frayed pattern on its ears. The Pichu turned away from Green to look at Red, staring blankly.

"You're from Kalos too, huh?" Red asked.

The Pichu nodded and then pointed at the PC, which still displayed the logo of Team Flare. The Pichu then made a bunch of complex motions with his hands which Red was able to identify as a box, a plane, and a breakout. Red's heart jumped as the puzzle pieces began to fall into place.

"Guys," he said in a low voice. "These Pokémon aren't supposed to be here...they were trafficked."

"What?!" Green and Blue cried and unison, earning them a strict hush from Red.

"Keep it down!" Red hissed, turning to the tiny Pokémon. "You guys were taken here by those Flare guys, weren't you?"

Looking sad, the Pichu and Riolu nodded.

"So that's how Pichu got so hurt," Blue said, reaching out to stroke the tiny mouse. "Poor thing..."

"But if they're here illegally, then that means they aren't registered," Green said, eyes narrowing. "Kanto has strict Pokémon transferring laws. If anyone sees them and knows they're from Kalos, without being registered by a trainer they can be sent to who knows where."

"Exactly," Red nodded, turning back to the Pichu. "You guys don't want to be sent away do you?"

The Pokémon shook their heads.

"Alright," Red pulled out two empty Poké Balls from his belt. "Get in these, we can at least get you out of the Pokémon Center safely."

With two scarlet rays, the Riolu and Pichu jumped into the balls. They both shook once before settling.

"Okay, let's move," Red said, clipping Pichu to his belt and handing Riolu's ball to Blue. He figured if one of them was caught, at least the other would be safe.

The trio left, attempting to look normal as they walked through the streets of the city towards the Viridian Forest. Everything seemed to be going well as they were just about to hit the gate to the forest without even a smile from a passerby.

"You three, stop right there!" called a voice and the three teens froze. On a scooter, Officer Jenny pulled in front of them with a scowl.

"Oh h-hi Officer," Blue said nervously. "How are you today?"

"Fine considering the Viridian Gym is currently in shambles," she frowned. "You kids look like you're not from around here."

"I'm Viridian," Green began to stumble. "I mean I was from Viridian until I was until I was like six and then we moved to Pallet Town!"

Officer Jenny raised an eyebrow at Green as Blue turned white and Red covered his face with his hands. They were so doomed...

"Lemme see your IDs," she said, extending her hand as the three trainers handed her their Pokédex. The cop flipped each opened, and her eyes widened when she saw Red's name.

"You're Ash Ketchum's son?!" Jenny exclaimed, and while he felt his gut drop to his feet Red nodded along. His pride could be swallowed this one time. "Why didn't you say so, this city is indebted to him after he and your mom saved the Pokémon Center years ago!"

Blue turned to Red earnestly, "Hey! I never knew that!"

"Ha ha, yeah my parents sure were...adventurous," Red laughed lamely, kicking Blue in the back of the leg lightly. He ignored her pout and beamed at Jenny, wanting desperately to be anywhere but there.

"Oh, and you're Gary Oak's boy!" Jenny said turning to Green. "Wow, talk about legacy babies!"

"Yeah," Green said between smiles and fake laughs. "We are just so lucky."

"Well, sorry for the stop. Just gotta be careful with what happened earlier - ," the officer said, revving the engine of her scooter. "Tell your folks I say hi and good luck on your journey!"

The three teens waved as Officer Jenny sped off, only exhaling a combined sigh of relief when she was out of earshot.

"Wow, that was close." Red sighed, feeling Pichu's ball shake slightly on his belt.

"Seriously, I never want to get arrested with you guys," Blue said before mimicking Green. " 'Hi, I'm Green I am a Viridian,' whatever that means."

"Yes, I'm a bad liar, I get it," Green said with blush of embarrassment. "Now let's get out of here before someone sees us."

Blue and Red nodded, following Green through the main gate. They weren't stopped and quickly they found themselves in the mouth of the Viridian Forest. With a flick of their hands, Red and Blue called out their new Pokémon from their temporary Poké Balls. When the red light faded, Pichu and Riolu appeared, though appeared upset.

"What's wrong?" Blue asked, kneeling down to eye-level with Riolu. Tenderly she extended her hand to stroke the tiny Pokémon, but the moment her hand touched Riolu's fur a violet light erupted from its eyes.

"Blue!" Red called, reaching out for the girl but felt the violet energy flow through him like a current.

His hands went numb so though his saw his himself take hold Blue's shoulders he couldn't feel anything. In what seemed like another universe, Red heard the muffled voices of Green and the Pichu. They sounded so far away.

Red turned to see Blue, her body radiated in the light as her eyes stared at the Riolu, unfocused. He attempted to shake her awake, but he still couldn't feel anything. Turning his attention towards the tiny Pokémon, he was instantly hit with a flood of images.

Before him played the Riolu's life, from his time as a pup to weeks ago when he and the Pichu escaped Team Flare's trafficking ring. He watched as Pichu short-circuited itself and Riolu carry his friend to the deep woods of Route 22. Red felt the Pokémon's emotion, the overwhelming loneliness during his journey and the fear of losing its only friend. He watched him come into the picture and felt how scared Riolu grew as he chased him and how secure he felt in Blue's arms. The burst of happiness Red felt from Riolu when he had helped Pichu was enough to make him feel like he was going to pass out. Everything was so intense.

As he rode this wave, he looked at Blue. Was she feeling this too?

Then it hit them - Riolu and Pichu's wanting to stay with them and travel. They wanted to be friends. They wanted trainers.

Like being sucked by a vacuum, the violet light was gone. Red and Blue fell forward slightly, their balance off kilter from the experience. Red clung to the grass beneath them in an attempt to make the world stop spinning, Blue looked as if she was going to be sick. Green was at their side in a heartbeat with Fresh Water, which they both drank to keep from vomiting.

When it appeared that his world was back to normal, Red exhaled loudly and smiled at the two Pokémon.

"You could've just asked."


	7. Lysandre and Ghetsis

Lysandre was absolutely fuming.

The stomping of his boots echoed in the marble halls of the palace. Like a Pyroar's mane, his voluminous hair swished and swayed behind him. His teeth gritted, fist clenched as he barked at every person he passed the same question.

"Where the hell is Ghetsis?!" Lysandre roared as the two Sages, Ryoku and Rood, passed. "Where is he?!"

"Sir, Lord Ghetsis is a busy man," said Ryoku. "You must be patient."

"Patient?" Lysandre echoed with a dry laugh. "He is giving my men orders and killing them! After allowing you Plasma goons to use my labs and foil our plans, why should I be patient for? To wait for the perfect moment to kick his fu-"

Suddenly with a zip, Lysandre found himself surrounded by three identical men dressed as ninjas.

"Oh no, not the Shadow Triad," mumbled Rood, looking down at the floor with annoyance. "They always drag so much dirt into the castle."

"Shadow Triad? Please!" Lysandre laughed heartily. "Grown men dressed as ninjas do not scare me."

"We are not here to scare you," droned the men in unison. "We are here to escort you to Lord Ghetsis. Come."

Lysandre found his legs moving on their own as the ninjas escorted him up various stairs and floors until they faced a large silver and blue door.

"Inside," they spoke before disappearing into thin air.

The door opened, and Lysandre marched inside to see Ghetsis waiting for him. An older man, his small frame was draped with a cloak and a gold ornament covered his missing eye.

"Welcome, Lysandre," the old man greeted warmly. "Were you waiting long, my friend?"

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you where you stand, Ghetsis!"

"Well, I have three and they just led you here," Ghetsis said with a grin before bursting into laughter.

"I am not joking," Lysandre snarled.

"Neither am I, my boy," Ghetsis smirked, turning to the table to his right. "Would you care for a drink? I feel terribly rude not offering."

"Enough with the fake pleasantries," Lysandre roared. "Explain to me why you have sent all my men to Kanto without notifying me first."

"Because we need them there," the old man said, as if it were obvious.

"That wasn't part of our deal."

"Ah, but that's where you're wrong," Ghetsis said, pausing to take a sip of his drink. "You see, you, me and our compatriots teamed together together with the same...target in mind."

"But why Kanto?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Ghetsis said, his voice sounding slightly irritated. "That's where they lie."

"Then I want out," Lysandre said, his tone final. "And I want _my_ men and _my_ labs returned to _me_. Traveling to some backwater region to kidnap Gym Leaders on a wild goose chase is NOT what I agreed to!"

Ghetsis frowned sadly, placing his glass on the table with a loud clink.

"Aw, my dear friend," he sighed, sadly. "You don't really mean that, do you?"

There was a pause and Lysandre wasn't even sure why. There was something about Ghetsis, something he couldn't put his finger on, but it made it seem like he was always steps ahead of everyone. He hated it.

"Yes, I do!" Lysandre shot as he marched closer to the old man, teeth bared as if he was going to bite him. "I am the leader of Team Flare and I control of them! Me and only me! Screw your deal and your 'prophecy' crap - I'm taking them back to Kalos!"

It was now Ghetsis' turn to pause. Silently he stared at the younger man, picking up his drink for a sip before exhaling loudly.

"I see," Ghetsis finally said, turning his back. "I guess that's that then."

"Yes," Lysandre said, slightly shaken. "My men and I will depart in the morning."

"That won't be necessary," said Ghetsis, his back still turned.

"Wh-"

The zipping noise shot through the air like a gunshot, and instantly Lysandre was overtaken by the Shadow Triad. His screams were muffled by their hands and they disappeared into the ether.

"Oh Lysandre," Ghetsis sighed, pouring himself another drink. "I had hoped you would be smarter than Maxie and Archie, but alas."

He walked towards his desk, drink still in hand. He pressed a buzzer and within seconds Ryoku was in his quarters.

"Yes, my lord?"

"Please share the troubling news to the Team Flare grunts that their leaders has fallen in battle," he said, drily.

"Shall I order more Plasma uniforms, sir?"

"Yes, just as you had for the Magma and Aqua recruits."

"Of course sir," Ryoku said. "Anything else?"

"No that will be all," Ghetsis said, finishing his drink and walking towards his chambers. "I shall be heading to bed. It's been a long day."

"Thank you, lord Ghetsis," the Sage said with a bow. "Hail Plasma."

"Yes," the older man chuckled under his breath, "Hail Plasma."

* * *

Red yawned loudly from his seat on the grass. Squirtle mimicked his actions next to him while Pichu snored lightly as it slept on his shoulder.

After spending the night in Viridian Forest, Red was reminded of how much he disliked bug-types. He chalked it up to growing up with his mother, who would scream and yell if there was a Weedle even in ear-shot of the gym. He remembered one time when he was fourteen being shoved into the main pool area to remove a Caterpie that had evolved into Metapod under one of the bleachers. By the way the gym had gone into lockdown, the city thought the caution was due to come dangerous threat and not a harmless (and motionless) bug-type.

That aside, Red's Squirtle just wasn't strong against grass-types and Pichu was only effective against the occasional Pidgey and Sparrow. Needless to say, they were sick of battling Bug Catchers and Youngers.

As Blue annihilated another poor trainer's Caterpie with Charmander's ember attack, Riolu cheered on his new trainer from the side-lines. Green, on the other hand, looked as deep in thought as ever.

"How you holding up?" Red said, turning to his friend.

"About as well as I can, I guess," Green sighed, watching Blue finish up her battle. "What about you? You look better than you did before."

"Yeah, I'm okay now," said Red, remembering the out-of-body experience Riolu Aura Share had on him the day before. "That was a crazy powerful move, though. I actually felt like his aura was like...being sent through me, or something."

With a loud crack, Blue's Charmander finished off the trainer's last Pokémon, a Metapod, with a tackle attack. The two shook hands amiability before Blue, Riolu and Charmander made their way over.

"Good battle," Green said, handing her an Oran Berry for Charmander.

"Thanks," she smiled, and feed the berry to Charmander. "It's really nice to grind in some experience before a Gym Battle. How far is Pewter anyway?"

"Can't be too far," Red said, climbing to his feet and stretching. The motion was enough to wake-up Pichu, who looked around the forest, still groggy.

"Ha, sorry about that, buddy," he said, petting the tiny mouse. "Didn't mean to wake ya."

"Pichu pi," the mouse squeaked, before lifting up Red's hat and crawling underneath. Red wasn't exactly sure why, but Pichu had claimed underneath his hat as its residence. He didn't mind, though every so often Red would find himself prone to accidentally share a few bits of static shock.

He was snapped from his thoughts by a small rock being thrown his way.

"C'mon, Red!" Blue called as Green tossed another rock at his friend's feet. "We found the exit!"

Jogging to meet them, a few steps later they were at the opening gate of Pewter City. The city was small, filled mostly with stonemasons and academics from the museum on the north side of the city. In the distance, Mt. Moon stood and was easily seen from every part of Pewter.

"So," Blue said, flipping open her Pokédex. "Let's see, first thing I think we should do stop by the Pokémon Center and then maybe head over to the Pewter Museum?"

"A museum?!" Red said, making a face like he was going to be sick. "To do what? Look at rocks?!"

"It's not just rocks!" Blue fought back, blushing slightly. "It's a whole bunch of stuff about space and Mt. Moon and...and..."

"An entire exhibit on the discovery of Cleffa, Clefairy and Clefable?" Green asked, pointing to an advertisement banner.

Blue's pink blush turned into a full-red flush as she pushed her hat down to cover her eyes. Charmander and Riolu turned to their trainer and then to the boys with a scowl.

"Uh, sorry!" Green stumbled. "I uh...didn't mean to-"

"Make fun of such a stupid idea?" Red finished, raising an eyebrow. Green shot him a look before turning back to Blue.

"Blue, I-"

"No, it's fine," the girl said, recalling her Pokémon before they mauled the two boys (to Red's relief). "I'm just...going to go by myself."

"C'mon, Blue, I didn't..." Green stopped for a beat. "We didn't mean it."

"Speak for youself," Red murmured under his breath, earning a leer from Green.

"It's fine," Blue said with finality, already taking steps towards the museum. "I'll meet up with you guys later."

She was off quickly, her long brown hair swinging behind her. Green turned to Red, furiously.

"Well," Red said, stretching his arms over his head. "Now that we dodged that bullet-"

"Are you kidding me?!" Green shot, snapping Red from his stretching. "You're seriously going to pretend that she's not totally upset right now?!"

Red stared at his friend for a moment before rolling his eyes.

"Green, c'mon it's _Blue_," he said. "She literally does this kind of stuff all the time. She's just a little...oversensitive."

Green stared at Red as if he grew another head, but the dark haired teen continued.

"Like when we were kids if I didn't pick her for my kickball team she'd get all upset and cry about it. And even the other day when she came to my house before we met up with you, she got this new outfit from her Grandmother and got all bent outta shape because I didn't notice," he explained. "She just gets all upset about stupid things. It's a girl thing."

"A girl thing?" Green echoed, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, a girl thing," Red said, arms crossed. "And believe me, I know a little something about girl things."

A heavy silence dropped between the two boys, only broken when Green exhaled loudly.

"Red," he began. "You are my best friend and I love you like a brother, but you are one of the stupidest guys I've ever met in my entire life."

Red froze, mouth agape like a freshly caught Magikarp. Feeling exhausted by the situation, Green turned to leave.

"I need to go find someone," he explained cooly over his shoulder. "Go find Blue and apologize."

"Apologize?!" Red exclaimed. "For what?!"

"Everything!"


	8. The Pewter Museum

Blue pressed her face against the glass display of the oldest moon rock found in Kanto. At her knees, Charmander and Riolu mimicked her actions.

"It says here that this piece of moon rock was found thousand of years ago at the base of Mt. Moon," she explained to her Pokémon. "Isn't that crazy that something so little made it here from the moon?"

Charmander and Riolu nodded, looking back at the rock. They had only traveled a short distance to get from Viridian to Pewter City and that felt like it took a lifetime. They couldn't even think of traveling from something as far away as the moon.

After reading the rest of the display, Blue was off to the next one. This time it was a rocket ship, which she stared at for a moment before walking away.

"I'm not a big fan of rockets," she smiled as her tiny Pokémon held both her hands. "Do you guys wanna go back in your Poké Balls?"

Riolu and Charmander shook their head adamantly, causing Blue to smile.

"It's alright," she said. "You don't have to keep me company just because those dumb boys didn't. You've been great, but I can see you're tired."

"You would be right in that assumption."

Startled, Blue spun around to see that the source of the voice was a tall, young man with green hair and a baseball hat. Judging by his looks, he was only a year or so older than she was though the piercing stare of his silver eyes seemed almost endless.

"Sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to frighten you."

"No, no it's fine," Blue laughed, nervously. "I was just caught off-guard is all."

"I see," he said before crouching down so he was eye-level with Charmander. The fire-type looked nervous, making motions to hide behind Blue's leg as the mysterious boy's glazed continued. After what seemed like an eternity, he popped up like a spring and beamed at Blue. "These Pokémon adore you!"

"I would hope so," Blue replied, trying to cover the intense awkwardness she felt with forced laughter. "I am their trainer."

The boy's features relaxed into an easy smile as he extended his hand towards her, "My name is N."

"I'm Blue," she said, grasping his hand in a gentle handshake. "Guess I can add another member to the weird name club, huh?"

The quip hung in the air like a wet sock.

"A weird name club?" N echoed and Blue felt her cheeks warm. Obviously this kid did not have an ear for sarcasm.

"Never mind," she laughed uncomfortably. "It was a joke. I mean the name club thing was a joke, my name is really Blue and I'm...sounding like a crazy person now."

N laughed as Blue tucked a strand of hair behind her ear nervously.

"I understand why your Pokémon like you so much," he smiled, meeting her eyes. "You are very cute."

Blue felt her face heat up, as N continued to laugh. She looked away in embarrassment and in the corner of her eye Blue caught sight of a familiar red hat. Turning back to N, she noticed that the teen was gone. Looking around, the boy was no longer even in the museum.

"Super weird," she said, stuffing her hands into the pockets of her skirt and to her surprised felt a piece of paper that wasn't there before. Pulling it out she saw it was a handwritten note.

_Until next time. - N_

"Super creepy," Blue mumbled, scrunching her nose and crumpling the note to be thrown in the trash. Her efforts were interrupted as Red made awkward eye-contact with her from across the museum floor.

"And super annoying."

Recalling her Pokémon, Blue walked away from him with a huff. Though Blue couldn't see him behind her, she could already tell Red was rolling his eyes as he followed her.

Not that she cared.

She swerved and swayed around numerous exhibits of fossils and rocks, in hopes of shaking him off her tail. Red was quicker than her, however, and just as she thought she had lost him she looked forward to see the lanky teen leaning against a display of Old Amber.

"If I knew you were gonna go through here so quickly I wouldn't have made such a big deal," he said with a shrug. Blue rolled her eyes, but her attempt to walk passed the boy was stopped when he gently took hold of her hand.

Blue felt her heart skip up into her throat, feeling her cheeks warm. She managed to make eye-contact with Red, who seemingly didn't realize how holding her hand was affecting her.

"Look, about everything before..." Red began, trailing off as he attempted to find his words. Blue wondered if they were on the floor since that's where his eyes were fixed.

"What do you mean 'everything before'?" Blue asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You know," he mumbled, pulling his hand away to shove into his pockets. How badly she suddenly missed its warmth bugged her. "For that stuff you're upset about..."

He paused, and she continued to stare. With a sigh he finally finished.

"I'm sorry."

She paused for a beat, crossing her arms as she looked up at him, "You really mean that?"

"Sure," he said with a shrug. "It's my fault."

Blue raised an eyebrow, "Really?"

"Sure, I'm so wrong in this situation," he turned around to make his way out of the museum. "Now let's get out of here. Oh, and what was that tall guy in the hat talking to you about?"

Blue felt the anger in her swell to proportions she didn't imagine possible, Red continued on.

"He looked a little old to be enjoying Clafaries," his laughter was muffled when he felt tiny electric shocks running from his head to his fingertips.

"Pi...chu..." Pichu whispered, desperately trying to warn his trainer of the thin ice he was skating on.

"Easy up there," Red said, dismissively. He turned back around to face Blue. "So what was he talking to you about? I mean, it obviously wasn't for a date or anything."

Blue's fist hit the wall before Red knew what happened. Shocked, he made eye contact with the girl, who looked like something out of a horror movie. Her blue eyes fixed on him intensely.

"You..." she growled, stomping up to him with such furiousity that even though Red was two heads taller, he found himself backed into the wall. "You...are…the worst person in the universe!"

"Excuse me?" Red's voice cracked. "Didn't you _just_ hear me apologize?!"

"But you don't even know what you did!" Blue cried, her eyes brimming with tears. "And you don't even care! It's just that you want me to not be mad at you anymore, isn't it?"

Red was silent, and Blue backed off, stomping down the hall and up the stairs angrily. Not knowing what else to do, Red chased her.

"Blue, c'mon!" he called as her brown hair swooshed behind her as she climbed up the stairs.

"No," she shot back. "Leave me alone, Red! I don't want anything to do with you!"

"Just tell me what I did wrong so I can make it up to you!"

"Well first off, you did everything wrong, so there's that."

"Okay, 'everything' is not a valid answer," Red said, growing annoyed.

They reached the top of the stairs and entered through a door to a round space. The room's walls and ceiling were covered in stars and pictures of Cleffa, Clefairy and Clefable. Since it was early afternoon on a weekday, they were the only two patrons in the room. Their sneakers sunk into the shag rug, most likely made for seating, like tall grass.

Blue stopped, breathing heavily as she attempted to wipe the tears from her eyes. She flinched when Red reached out to her, turning away.

"No," she said, softly, "No, Red, just...just stop, okay?"

Red was silent, not knowing what else to say. He had tried to apologize but Blue seemed more upset than ever. The lights in the room dimmed as a low humming rumbled from the walls, the exhibition she wanted so badly to see was starting.

"Ever since we were kids I felt like a tagalong," Blue explained as the pictures of the fairy Pokémon bounced around them. "Like we were only friends because I was the poor little girl with no parents and your mom was nice enough to force you to be friends with me."

"Blue, that's not true-" Red tried, but was cut off.

"Then Green came along and even though he was nice, he was only doing what his best friend was doing," she continued. "You were the sons of Pokémon legends, and I was just the crybaby girl who tagged along."

She was trying to hold it together, but the tears flowed free down her cheeks. Red managed to take hold of her hand, but she was too upset to notice. The lights from the show reflected off her face like ghosts.

"I'm just...I'm just tired of fighting with you," her voice cracked. "I'm tired of us picking on each other and I just feel so stupid because I-I-I..."

She couldn't find the words anymore.

The room went black and within an instant Blue pulled her arm causing Red to stumble forward as she pressed her lips against his in a clumsy, impromptu kiss. She felt him kiss her back softly, the sparks from Pichu (who was most likely embarrassed by the display) flowed through them like an electric current. Around them the display of shooting stars and flying moon rocks buzzed, giving the impression that they were in some alternate universe where it was okay for two best friends to steal kisses. It was only for a few seconds, and when the lights went on they stood, noses touching.

Then it hit Blue what she just did.

She instantly pulled away, excusing herself to the bathroom leaving Red, blushing and alone surrounded by pictures of happy pink Pokémon.


	9. The Rustboro Gym Leader

Green stared down at his Pokégear, trying to navigate the winding streets of Pewter City. At his feet, Bulbasaur looked left and right as well.

"If I see one more rock formation in this city I'm gonna go nuts," Green grumbled, as was torn from his thoughts when Bulbasaur tapped him on the shoulder with his line.

"Bulba!" the tiny grass-type cried, pointing to a house. "Bulba bulba!"

Double checking his Pokégear, Green grinned.

"Good job!" he said rubbing his Pokémon behind the ear. "Now let's-"

He was interrupted by the ground rumbling. Looking up, he saw the familiar figure of the blonde girl from Viridian City running fast his way on her Dodrio. Quickly recalling Bulbasaur, Green jumped out of the way as the bird Pokémon skidded to a halt, dust and dirt flying in their wake.

"Oh," the girl said, sitting on the back of the bird. "It's you again."

"Yeah and we should probably stop meeting like this," Green said, slightly annoyed. Due to her androgynous appearance it was a lot easier to talk to her than the previous time. "What's your name, anyway?"

"My name is not important, Oak," the girl said, jumping off her Pokémon and recalling it into its ball. "Plus, it's not a good idea for someone to get too attached to their assignment."

"Assignment?" Green echoed, his arms crossed. "Someone assigned you to follow me around? Who?"

There was a silence and Green knew the answer.

"Figures" he mumbled.

"So you're looking for Gym Leader Brock?" the girl asked and Green stiffened.

"W-what? N-n-no," Green stammered, waving his hands in front of his face unconvincingly. "What makes you think that?"

The girl pointed to the house they were standing in front of and Green paled.

"What's all the ruckus out here?" came a voice, and both teens turned to see a tall woman in a blue dress and pink stockings. Her hair was tied in pigtails with pink bow that matched the colors of her stockings. By the sound of her accent, she was from Hoenn.

"Apologies, Gym Leader Roxanne," the blonde girl said with a bow. "We deeply regret being so rude."

Green stood still, blinking for a moment before he felt himself get pulled down to join the girl in a bow.

"Um, yes," he said slowly. "My name is Green Oak and I'm a trainer. I'm sorry for my rudeness."

"It's alright," the woman said, crossing her arms. "Hello Green, I'm Roxanne the Rustboro Pokémon Gym Leader."

"Rustboro?" Green questioned, rising from his bow. "But isn't that in Hoenn? I thought this was the home of the Pewter City Gym Leader?"

Roxanne paused, her face relaxed as she smiled, "Ah, then you must be looking for my husband."

"Husband?!" Green echoed. From what his father had told him, the Pewter City Gym Leader wasn't the kind of guy who could settle down.

"Yes," Roxanne said with a soft laugh. "Your parents weren't the only Gym Leaders who ended up together. Please, follow me inside - you too, Yellow."

Green turned to the girl, "Your name is…Yellow?"

The blonde girl froze, and after a single nod she climbed up the front stairs and into the home. Green followed behind her slowly. As they entered the tiny house, Roxanne instructed them to sit on the sofa as she went to fetch her husband. The clock in the living room ticked loudly as Green took in the sparsely decorated home.

"Doesn't look like they stay here a lot, huh?" he said, turning to Yellow.

"They travel," she answered simply. "We all do."

Green paused for a beat.

"What do you mean we-"

He was interrupted by Brock entering the room. His hair was shaggy, barely revealing his squinty eyes. He wore an orange pull-over and cargo shorts. His work boots were dirty, signaling that he had been outside training.

"Brock," Roxanne said exasperated, walking in behind him. "Don't come into the house with your dirty boots!"

"Heh, sorry, hon," Brock smiled, good naturedly before turning to the two teens to exchange pleasantries. "Wow, you do look like your dad, Green!"

"Heh, thanks," Green smiled awkwardly. "I actually came here to speak with you about his...disappearance."

Green explained the situation with Viridian City and what he had found out about Team Flare and their Pokémon trafficking. During the story, Yellow remained silent, slowly sipping the tea that Roxanne had set on the table for them. When the boy was done, Brock sat and rubbed his chin as he processed the story.

"Well," he said after a long silence. "As terrible as Pokémon trafficking is, I can't say that's something out of the ordinary for major Pokémon crime syndicates. Kidnapping Gym Leaders, however, is a different matter."

"Have you noticed anything strange, Brock?" Green asked and the older man let out a sigh.

"To be honest, kid, I don't really keep tabs on other leaders anymore," he explained. "My brother Forrest and I co-run the Pewter City Gym, so besides Misty I don't really reach out to other leaders. Also, I haven't been around the gym nearly as much as Forrest recently."

"How come?" Green asked.

"Leader Roxanne is pregnant," said Yellow, in her matter-of-factly tone.

Brock and Roxanne blinked in unison, staring at Yellow as Green looked on in confusion.

"Uh…" he stumbled. "Is that true?"

"Why, yes," Brock said, looking at Yellow. "But how did you know? We only just found out ourselves a few weeks ago."

Roxanne smiled from behind her husband, "Yellow is just as observant as ever."

A thick silence dropped on them like a blanket.

"Sorry if I'm getting off on a tangent," Green asked, pointing between Yellow and the older woman. "But how do you guys know each other?"

"Yellow was one of my students at the Pokémon Trainer's School in Hoenn," Roxanne explained. "She was always one of my brightest and most insightful students."

"Thank you," Yellow said, getting up from her chair to give her former teacher another bow. "I appreciate the compliment."

"Though, I do wish she would quit this wild goose chase with the Underground," Roxanne added sternly, and Green noticed Yellow visibly stiffen.

"Honey…" Brock attempted, but his wife was already on her soapbox.

"The Underground is nothing but a bunch of ragamuffins running around regions and getting themselves killed for something that most likely doesn't exist," she continued. "I mean Leader Oak no disrespect, however I must say I'm not surprised that he has been captured for continuing to associate with such a group. One would think he would learn after the death of your mother, Green, but it seems he and his friends have kicked the hornet's nest one too many times."

The teens sat in a thick silence and Green noticed he was clenching his fists. Letting out a long exhale, he relaxed.

"I see," he said, turning to Brock. "So I take it you won't help us, then?"

"It's not that I won't help you, Green," Brock explained, sadly. "It's that there really isn't much that I can do. Since I came back to Pewter I haven't had much contact with anyone and Roxanne and I were forced to distance ourselves from the Underground. We're just on a different path, now."

Green nodded, "I get it."

"I'm sorry," Brock said, resting a hand on the young man's shoulder. "But listen, your dad is a strong guy, he'll be okay. You just gotta have faith in him."

Faith, it seemed to Green, was something that was growing thinner and thinner each day.

* * *

As Brock led the two teens to the front door, he made sure to whisper in Green's ear low enough for his wife not to hear, "Ask Forrest about your dad. He's still part of the Underground."

With a small smile, Green nodded and walked back out to the street of Pewter City.

"So Yellow, do you want to meet my friends?" he asked, only to turn to see the blonde girl had already left. He sighed loudly, "I wonder if she knows how rude that is?"

Stuffing his hands in his pockets, the teen made his way towards the Pewter City Museum. Maybe seeing Red and Blue would lift his spirits, that is if they were on speaking terms.

As he approached the front of the museum, he did see his friends. Only they were sitting on two different benches, not facing the other, looking terrified. Green exhaled loudly, gaining both their attentions.

"What happened _now_?"

Red and Blue both hopped from their respective benches, walking up to their friend.

"Nothing," they said in awkward unison.

Green raised an eyebrow as he noticed Blue and Red stop at either side of him, not making eye contact or even acknowledging the other's presence. He felt like a human shield and it wasn't just freaking him out, it was annoying too.

"Hey...so….you wanna go to the gym?" he asked, uncomfortably.

The two teens nodded and began to walk alongside him, making sure to match his pace and steps so they never had to see the other. Green felt his shoulder fall.

Why even bother?


	10. Boulder Badges

The trio approached the gym warily, this was going to be their first real gym battle. Red looked at Green who seemed annoyed. He wondered if something had happened or if he was still peeved that Blue and him weren't on speaking terms. Not that he would be the only one.

The thought of the girl made Red feel so many complicated emotions. On one hand, she was one of his best friends and they were constant companions since she moved to Cerulean City with her grandmother. They grew up together and he couldn't picture his life without her.

But that kiss...

That changed everything. So much, in fact that he wasn't even sure how he felt, besides the fluttering in his chest whenever he thought about it (which he just dismissed to be from stress or a mild heart attack). He had kissed her back, though he didn't entirely understand why besides from the fact that it felt...right? Good?

But it was Blue!

Red's mind collapsed again, fighting with himself over something he couldn't really comprehend. He felt a pinch on his arm and turned to see it was Green.

"Focus, Red," he said before pushing open the heavy gym doors. "I don't want to be here all day because you're off in La La Land."

Red nodded, Green was right. Right now the most important thing was to win that badge.

As they entered, the first thing Red noticed were how many rocks and boulders were scattered around the Gym. On top of what looked like a mountain, sat a man with messy brown hair in a green tank-top and cargo shorts. Around him, flew three geodudes and behind him slept the biggest Onix Red had ever seen.

"Yo, Champs in the making!" called a voice, and the trio turned to see a man with sunglasses holding three bottles of Fresh Water which he handed to the teens. "Welcome to Pewter City Gym! This place is run by Brock and his younger brother Forrest!"

"Um, thanks," Green said, looking at his water bottle before turning back to the man. "Who are you?"

"Me?" said the man with a hearty laugh. "I'm the Gym Guide! Listen to me, kids, and I can take you straight to the top!"

The teens didn't seem too impressed and the guide appeared upset.

"Now, now, I'm sure you have a whole bunch of Gym Guides telling you what to do, but I assure you I am the best," the man continued, pointing to Forrest who was still deep in meditation. "For example, Forrest is more into offensive rock-type moves, unlike his brother Brock who is more defensive. You're going to have to be one-step ahead of him to maintain any sort of advantage."

"Thanks for the advice," Green said with a nod before venturing forward.

Within a few steps, a stone wall closed them off from guide, leaving them face-to-face with Forrest, who had awoken from his meditation. Above him, the three Geodude spun rapidly.

"Welcome to the Pewter City Gym," said the young man with a smile. "My name is Forrest, and I am the Gym Leader...well, at least for today."

The trio stood in silence until Red cleared his throat loudly. None of them really figured out what to say to the Gym Leader when they got there.

"I'm Red from Cerulean City," he said, before pointing to the other two. "Me and my friends are here for our first gym battle."

"Ah, yes," Forrest said with a grin. "You're Misty's boy."

Red winced at the recognition, remembering Blue's bitterness about them being the son of "legends."

Forrest's eyes rested on Green, who most likely didn't need an introduction due to looking so much like his father. However, when Forrest's eyes hit Blue the young man was startled.

"And who are you?" he asked, the Geodudes above him spinning faster.

"I'm Blue," she said, and it took Red a second to realize that it was the first time he heard her voice since the Pewter Museum. "I'm also from Cerulean."

"Fascinating," Forrest said, emphasizing each syllable in the word.

Red didn't know Brock outside the occasional visit he would make to his mother, but from what he could tell Forrest was much more excitable and animated. After a few moments of heavy silence, Forrest spoke with a grin.

"How about we make this Gym Challenge a little more interesting?" he said, still grinning. "As opposed to battling you each one at a time, how about I challenge you to a triple battle against my three Geodude?"

The trio paused, looking amongst each other.

"Are triple battles approved by the Indigo League?" Green asked, impressing Red who was more worried about battling alongside the female of the group taken their lastest interaction.

"Let's find out," Forrest said. "GYM GUIDE!"

In a flash the Gym Guide appeared from behind them, though breathing heavily, "Y-yes, sir?"

"Would a triple battle with these three be alright with the Indigo League's regulations?"

The man reached into his pocket to pull out a battered old book, skimming through it with his thumb quickly. Within an instant he had an answer.

"The official guidelines don't say anything against it," he said. "Though I suggest that each of these guys only uses one Pokémon in order to have a leveled-playing field."

"Fair enough," Forrest called, skidding down the miniature mountain in the gym with his Geodudes. "Are you three ready?"

Hesitantly, Red nodded before looking to see if his other partners were ready. From under his hat he felt Pichu stir before lifting its brim to jump onto his shoulder for a better view.

"Alright, here we go!" Forrest said, jumping to his position on his side of the gym.

The Geodudes broke from their orbit around him to fan onto the field. On the other end, Red took his stance on the right side of Green, with Blue backing up the left. They threw their Poké Balls into the field, revealing Squirtle, Bulbasaur and Riolu.

"Let the battle commence!" the Gym Guide called, blowing a whistle.

Instantly the three Geodudes got into defensive poses, and Red wondered what it was like training three nearly identical Pokémon.

"Geodude, tackle!" Forrest called and wasting no time the Geodude on the far right lunged towards Squirtle.

"Squirtle, water gun!" Red ordered. Squirtle released a spray of water from its mouth and the Geodude dodged the stream, quickly landing a heavy blow on the tiny turtle's side.

"Squirtle!" Red called, looking to Green to see the young man's face drown in a frown.

"He expected that attack the second you called Squirtle," Green explained, eyes fixed on the rock-types. "He's probably battled a bunch of them considering he's Kanto's first gym."

"Good point," Red nodded and let out a sigh of relief when Squirtle gathered his bearings and looked ready for more. Forrest called another attack to a Geodude on the far left, this time a rock throw aimed at Riolu.

"Riolu, agilt-"

"Squirtle, another water gun!"

Shocked, Blue turned to Red as Squirtle's stream shot across the field, hitting the Geodude head-on, but barely missing Riolu who frantically jumped out of the way just in time. The hit was critical and the Geodude was knocked out.

"Geodude is unable to battle," the Gym Guide called as Forrest recalled the fainted Pokémon. On the other side of the field, Blue was livid.

"What's your problem?" she called, pointing at Red's Squirtle. "You could've hit Riolu!"

"Oh so now we're on speaking terms?" Red scoffed, humorlessly.

"Th-that has nothing to do with…" Blue stammered, growing red in the face. "N-n-nevermind, just stay on your own side!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

"No, not fine!" Green interrupted, causing the two teens to look at their friend in the middle. "Not freaking fine at all!"

Red and Blue blinked in unison as Green's eyes remained fixed on the battlefield.

"Look, I don't know what's going on between you guys and right now I don't really care," he said. "But whatever it is you need to get over it because otherwise we will _not_ win this battle."

"Didn't you just see me knock out that Geodude?" Red said, thumbing the field.

"You mean when you almost knocked out someone on your own team?" Green shot back, his eyes meeting his friend's. "I'm not kidding about this. We either work as a team or we will lose this battle and the badge."

After exchanging guilty looks, Red and Blue nodded and turned back to the field.

"His Geodudes are fast and tough, so we're not going to get lucky again with a critical knock out like we just did," Green continued, before pointing to Blue. "We need to outmaneuver them with Riolu's speed and Bulbasaur's range of attacks."

"Right," Blue nodded as Forrest called another attack, this time the middle Geodude dug its arms into the rocky ground of the gym for a rock throw attack. "Riolu, agility!"

Instantly, the tiny blue Pokémon was on its feet, dodging the flying rocks as he ran closer to the rock-type.

"Bulbasaur, cut those rocks down to size with razor leaf!"

The tiny green Pokémon unleashed a flurry of leaves from its bulb, rendering the rocks ineffective. When Riolu was close enough, Blue ordered for a hard-hitting mega punch. However, midway through its attack, Red caught sight of the second Geodude aiming its own rock-throw on the tiny Pokémon.

"Squirtle," called Red. "Hit the second Geodude with a Bubble attack!"

Taking mind not to hit his comrade, Squirtle jumped into action, unleashing direct stream of bubbly-foam at the rock-type. Within moments, both Geodudes were knocked out.

"But Geodudes are unable to battle," called the Gym Guide, pointing to the three teens. "The challengers are the winners!"

The trio jumped in celebration, with Green and Red exchanging high-fives and Blue tackled both boys in a hug. It only took a second for Red and Blue to remember why they were so awkward to each other and to back from the other as if they were on fire.

"Very impressive battling. Your Pokémon's powerful attacks overcame my rock-hard resistance," Forrest said, handing the three trainers a tiny gray badge. "You guys are stronger than I expected but I'm proud of present you with your Boulder Badges."

"Thank you," Red said, pinning the badge to the inside of his jacket. Green did the same, as Blue attached hers to a tiny case she kept in her bag. "I was getting nervous there for a moment that we weren't going to be able to beat you."

"Teamwork is key in any multiple battle situation," the gym leader explained. "However, you should meet with the Gym Guide so he can add your names to the list of trainers who earned their Boulder Badge."

Red nodded as he and Blue made their way to the man in sunglasses, Green however stayed behind.

"Is something the matter, Green?" Forrest asked.

"Yeah, I met with your brother earlier," Green said, feeling the anxiety build in his chest. "He said you can help me find my father."

Forrest's smile dropped, leaving a serious face that made him look more like his older brother. It freaked Green out instantly. Did he know something? Was his father already...dealt with?

"I don't know much," he said, his voice low. "But from what I hear, he isn't the first leader to be taken and he won't be the last."

"But," the young man said, looking around to make sure his comrades weren't listening. "He's alive."

"From what we think so, yes."

"But why him?" Green asked. "Why is a gang that's interested in Pokémon trafficking going after gym leaders."

"The same reason why Team Rocket is still around even though Giovanni is dead," Forrest said with a shrug. "Everyone is trying to find the last Conduit."

* * *

After registering the trio to their roster and waving goodbye, Forrest told the Gym Guide to take the rest of the night off. When he had healed his Geodudes from their battle, Forrest returned back to his miniature mountain for his daily meditation.

A few moments later, there was a blast at the door. Forrest remained still, surrounded by his beloved rock Pokémon as a handful of young men in women with red hair, fitted-suits and sunglasses bursted into the gym. In their hands they held Poké Balls and on their suits they wore the letter "F" proudly.

"Finally," Forrest said, his eyes still closed as the Geodudes' orbit around him quicken. "I thought you guys would never show up."


	11. Galactic Boss Cyrus

Two Galactic Grunts huffed as they lead their newly found prisoner into their Veilstone City headquarters. N looked bored as he raised an eyebrow at the large, colorful office building before them. It was easily the tallest building in the city, with the Galactic logo displayed on top.

"Isn't it counterproductive to have such a flamboyant building as your secret base?" he asked, and was ignored as the men forcefully walked through the double doors.

Once in the lobby, a fleet of nearly fifteen grunts lead in the tall green-haired teenager towards a tall elevator, handcuffing him and taking his black cap in the process. The internment part didn't seem to bother N as much as these grubby little kids from Sinnoh taking his hat. When they had reached for the Poké Balls on his belt, N's calm demeter turned into a furious snarl and growl. The grunts found it better for everyone if they just handcuffed him and called it a day.

They reached the top floor of the elevator with a light ping of a bell, and the doors opened to reveal a short hallway leading to tall double-doors with the Galactic symbol, Cyrus's office. The grunts lead N into the room, sitting him down forcefully into an armchair across from Cyrus' desk. With a snap, the Galactic leader dismissed his goons, his icy blue glare staring intensely at N.

"I'm not the type of man who does pleasantries," Cyrus growled. "So tell me what the hell you're doing in Sinnoh, brat."

"I have a message from my father," N said, his voice even and monotone.

"From Ghetsis?" the blue haired man's eyes narrowed. "I've already spoken to him about the situation with the hunt. My men are zeroing in on a target who we believe is-"

"That won't be necessary." N interrupted. "I've actually come to inform you that the efforts of Team Galactic are no longer needed."

"No longer needed?" Cyrus echoed. "That's impossible! Our intel has the last Conduit located in-"

"Your intel is wrong, Cyrus," the green haired boy interrupted again.

The older man sat in heavy silence, brows forever furrowed as his hands folded in front of his face like a mask.

"I am not a fool, child," he said finally. "If that is the extent of your message then I know Ghetsis didn't send you here to shake hands and walk happily into the sunset. What is it that you want?"

"For Team Galatic to be merged within Team Plasma," N said simply. "Now that we've found the final Conduit, not even the most powerful network of organized crime in Sinnoh can compete with us. You, Cyrus, will join the ranks of the Plasma Admins and your men will suffer nothing more than a change in uniform. Sounds like a much less sticker situation than it could be, yes?"

"Heh," Cyrus scoffed, leaning back in his chair as his face twisted into a menacing grin. "Your words are too flimsy to even hold water, brat. Do you think I do not know of what happened to the other leaders you've dealt with? The blood of Archie, Maxie and Lysandre are not on my hands, and you'd be damned if I ever allow someone as ridiculous as Team Plasma attempt a coup of my team."

"Is that a rejection of our offer?" N asked, still even-toned.

"No," Cyrus said as he reached below his desk to press a button. "This is"

After a few moment, Cyrus noted that nothing happened. He pressed the button repeatedly, harder each time until it appeared that his finger may break. Finally, he smashed the button under his desk with his fist in frustration, turning to the boy with a snarl.

"Where are my Admins?" he growled. "What have you done with Mars, Jupiter and Saturn?!"

A loud zip noise erupted in the room and within a flash, the Shadow Triad appeared, each man holding a corpse of a deceased Galactic Administrator. They dropped the bodies of Mars, Jupiter and Saturn in front of Cyrus' desk. Their leader, flabbergasted, looked as if he was going to be sick.

"You...you monsters!" he managed, raising up from his chair. "Why?!"

N remained expressionless as one of the Shadow Triad members freed him of his bindings. The tall young man stood, rubbing his wrists before turning to Cyrus.

"Because I had a feeling you were going to refuse," he said.

"Cocky, Plasma scum!" Cyrus growled, and reached to his belt for a Poké Ball. He felt nothing by leather, and looked over his shoulder to see the Shadow Triad holding the red and white casings.

"Face it, Cyrus, you lost this war before it even began," N said with a shrug. "We found the final Conduit and once they are eliminated, there will be no stopping Plasma. You would've been smart to take the offer that was presented to you."

"Never!" the older man said, throwing a punch at one of the Shadow Triad. He was too slow however, as the masked man countered his attack and locked him in a headlock.

N walked towards the man, making a show of stepping over the corpses of the fallen Galactic Admins.

"You know, Cyrus, this is a great big beautiful world that's constantly being dirtied by people using Pokemon as weapons," N said, leaning across the desk so he was face-to-face with the Galactic Leader. "People like you."

Cyrus remained silent, using any power he had in hopes of breaking out from the Triad's grip.

"Now, before we end our meeting is there anything else you'd like to add, Cyrus?"

"Yeah," he grunted, "Go to hell."

* * *

N walked out of the office with a yawn, never a fan of being his father's errand boy. Behind him stood the Shadow Triad, and though their faces were covered N could feel their giddiness after their freshly killed prey.

How trivial.

"Hold it!"

N turned to see a group of Galactic grunts storming the stairs, their Poke Balls out threateningly.

"Don't move, prisoner!" called another grunt. "Where is Leader Cyrus?!"

N smiled, "You cut right to the chase, huh?"

The grunt grew angry, throwing his Pokeball to unleash his Crobat.

"Crobat, fury swipes!"

"Fool," N sighed closing his eyes, and with a wave of his hand the Crobat froze, mid-attack. The rest of the grunts watched in horror as N opened his eyes to reveal...nothing. Just whites. "Pokémon being used for violence is a disgusting trait of human scum, though I'll never deny a Pokémon's inner wishes to take back its freedom from its captor."

N snapped his fingers and within an instant the Grunt was annihilated by the Crobat's hyper beam, leaving nothing but dust in its wake. The Crobat slowly flew up to the N's side, leaving the rest of Grunts frozen with fear in the hall.

"Cyrus is dead, and so is Team Galactic," called N. "If using Pokémon as tools for destruction is your only ambition in life, then you too shall suffer the same fate. However, if power and a new world if what you seek, then join me in bringing in a new world order with the power of Team Plasma."

The Grunts remained still, some turning to others in the group for reassurance. From the back, a woman called out, "Why should we trust you? Who even are you?"

N blinked twice before doubling over in childish laughter, at his side the Crobat's smile widened.

"Who am I?" he echoed, before rising up to his feet with a smile. "I am N, the King of Team Plasma."

Gasped and whispered erupted from the group of Grunts, with some going as far as the kneel before their new leader. N's smiled intensified.

"Now would someone please be a dear and give me back my hat."


	12. Mt Moon

Red felt a chill go up his spin as he tossed and turned in his sleeping bag. He felt cold and dreary, and the fact that they were spending another night in Mt. Moon didn't make matters better. His eyes wandered over to Pichu who was curled up into his hat like always, snoring softly.

Unlike in Viridian Forest, Squirtle was in his element against rock-types and Pichu made quick work of all the Zubats that appeared every two steps. After only the first day the mountain Squirtle had evolved into Wartortle, as Green and Blue's starters did the same. Their teams had grown as well, with Blue catching a Jigglypuff on Route 3 and Green striking gold by catching the one Golbat in an otherwise Zubat filled Mt. Moon. Red also expanded his team, catching himself a wild Oddish in hopes of countering Wartortle's weakness against grass-types.

Though he felt good about himself as a trainer, Red knew deep down his lack of sleep wasn't because of the Pokémon on his belt, but his traveling companions.

Well, one of them at least.

Red had hoped that after their spat during their battle with Forrest, him and Blue could possibly go back to being friends. He had tired in his own way, like congratulating her when she caught her Jigglypuff (Red knew it had been one of her favorite Pokémon since childhood) but was brushed off with a simple smile and nod. Often, she would elect to make small-talk with Green or wander off camp to train her Pokémon instead of even making eye-contact with him.

Red felt more confused than ever, especially since SHE had been the one to kiss HIM. He was just trying to act normal, but she was the one who had acting like he had done something terrible. Did she not hear him apologize at the Pewter Museum? Did she not realized he kissed her back, even if that still weirded Red out he wasn't stupid enough to not realize that meant something.

With a huff, he turned to his side to see Green's emerald eyes staring at him, piercing through the darkness.

"ACK!" Red shrieked, and was instantly shushed by his friend. "Don't shush me, jerk! You're the one creeping!"

"I'm not creeping," Green said in a low voice. "I'm trying to sleep but you keep squirming like a Caterpie over there and that's making it difficult."

"Oh, sorry," Red said softly, "I've just...I have a lot on my mind."

Green nodded, turning on his back to stare up at the cave. The ceiling was so high it felt like consistent night without the aide of Charmeleon's tail to light the way.

"Hey," he said, his eyes still on the ceiling. "Wanna see something cool?"

Red nodded, and crawled out of his bag slowly in hopes of not waking up the still sleeping Blue. Even in a dimly lit cave in the middle off nowhere, she wasn't exactly a morning person. As Green slipped on his sneakers, Red turned to the tiny electric-type still sleeping in his hat.

"Hey," he whispered, nuzzling Pichu's cheek with his finger gently. Sluggishly, the tiny Pokémon woke up, his black eyes still heavy from sleep. "Sorry buddy, but Green and I are going for a walk. Can you make sure Blue is okay while we're gone?"

Pichu nodded, saluting his trainer with a tiny paw before curling back into his hat. Red ran a hand through his hair, he guessed one night without his hat wouldn't kill him.

"Yo, c'mon," said Green, beckoning his friend over with a hand.

Red followed, trying not to stumble and fall on his face as Green led them up the side of the cave to a tiny crack at the edge of the wall. Green reached up, jiggled a loose rock and revealed a secret path to...somewhere? Red wasn't sure where Green was leading him, but he felt the cool breeze of outside air and that alone was enough to get him climbing. After a few pulls up and squeezing through small spaces, Red and Green found themselves at the edge of a cliff, outside the mountain's rocky walls and cavernous paths. From the corner of his eye, Red saw Green point upwards and his eyes followed the motion. Above them shined a full-moon, looking as big and bright as ever.

"I guess they don't call this place Mt. Moon for nothing," Red said, stretching his back. "I guess we're pretty close to the exit then, huh?"

"Yeah," Green said with a nod, taking a seat on the ground and pointing somewhere off in the distance. "Right there is Route 4, which leads directly to Cerulean City. Are you excited to see your mom again?"

"I suppose," Red said, taking a seat next to his best friend. "I'm even more excited to see her face when I shock the hell out of her Pokémon with Pichu."

Green shook his head with a smile at his friend's bizarre priorities before looking up at the moon.

"Hey," he said. "Do you remember when our dads would take us for rides on their Pokémon and show us all of Kanto and Johto?"

"Yeah," Red laughed. "And one time your mom caught us and intercepted us on her Skarmory and gave your dad an earful about being irresponsible. Luckily, my mom doesn't have any flying-"

Red looked over to see his friend had grown silent, his chin resting in his hands, covering his mouth.

"...type," Red finished, before squirming in his seat on the ground. "Sorry, dude…"

"It's alright," Green said, his voice as soft as ever. "I always wonder if there'll ever be a time when I won't miss her. It's been twelve years and it still hurts like the day dad came home and told me."

"I mean, at least you know she's...well, gone." Red said, his voice sympathetic. "I don't even know if my dad is alive or dead. Maybe he's out there right now, just screwing around without a care in the world. I don't know. How could I?"

"Yeah," Green said, softly. "Or maybe he's out there trying to find my dad...speaking of which."

Green reached into his pocket, pulling out his Pokégear and flicking to the Live Caster to show the dark-haired teen the news headline.

_Pewter City Gym Leader Defeats Mysterious Red-Suited Foes_

_Criminals Flee Before Police Make Arrest_

Red looked at his friend and in the darkness of the night couldn't read the expression on his face. He figured it was probably better that way.

"Anyway," Green said, putting his Pokégear back with a long sigh. "As unbelievable as this may sound, I didn't drag you out here to talk about how dysfunctional our families are."

"You don't say?" Red said with a smile.

"There's something I need to talk with you about," Green began, turning to make eye-contact with Red. It was a strange, intense look. "About certain feelings…"

Red felt his stomach drop.

"Holy crap," he said. "Are you coming out to me?"

"Between you and-WHAT?" Green's tone changed with a scream, but Red was already off to the races.

"Oh my god," he gasped, his hands covering his face. "I mean, I always kinda had a feeling that you were a little...interested in that team. But I never really considered it, but I guess it makes sense. It's not like you've ever showed any interest in girls and every time one of them would come up to us you would completely space!"

"R-R-Red," Green stammered, his face growing redder by the second.

"Oh man, oh man," Red continued, completely ignoring his friend. "Okay, I mean...wow. No, this is a big moment for you and I'm really happy that you picked me to share this with and I just want you to know that I'm here for you!"

The red that was building up in Green's face completely drained with Red took his hands into his own, staring at him with completely sincerity.

"It's going to be okay," Red said, as brown eyes met emerald. "Your feelings aren't _wrong_, it gets better!"

"Let go on my hands, Red." Green managed, between gritted teeth. "Before I rip yours off your arms."

"Unless, you were about to confess your love for me-OWW!" Red whined as Green's hands overtook his and trapped them in a bone crushing grip.

"I am _not_ coming out because I am _not_ gay," Green said, his eyes piercing. "And even if I was, the last person I would go for is an idiot like you."

"Geez, alright, alright" Red said, pulling away his hands with a pout. "I wouldn't want to date you either, since you're obviously an abusive prick."

Red flexed his hands a few times while Green took a deep breath, before mumbling something rude underneath it. Red didn't seem to notice though, too busy trying to gain the feeling back in his hands.

"Look, I was talking about you and Blue, okay?" Green said, steamrolling his friend with the truth. "I know something happened between you guys. Did you two make out when I wasn't looking?"

"Wh-what?" Red gaped like a fish out of water, "What makes you think we kissed?"

"It was a shot in the dark, but I'm assuming I'm right by the way you're reacting," Green pointed, and Red knew he was done. "So out with it."

Red exhaled loudly, recounting the entire ordeal from the Pewter Museum, including the part where they sat on opposite benches in tense, heavy silence. When he was finished, Red felt as if he had been talking for hours, and surprising it felt good to get it all off his chest. He wasn't good with feelings.

"So, in short, Blue kissed you and you kissed her back but now things are weird because you kissed?" Green said, as if Red's ramblings didn't suffice.

"Pretty much," the dark-haired boy said with a shrug. "It's just so...awkward."

"Why?"

"Because we kissed! It's weird now!" Red said shooting the brunette a look. It didn't seem to penetrate as Green rose an eyebrow. "It's weird when friends kiss, Green!"

"Yeah, unless they're friends who've had suppressed feelings for each other for years," Green quipped.

Red crossed his legs, pouting and turning away from his friend. Under his breath he mumbled something but it didn't seem like Green cared.

"Look, I'm not gonna sit here and pretend I have any idea what goes through that head of yours," Green continued. "But I think if you didn't have feelings for her you'd feel more upset than awkward."

Red remained silent, taking a stone in his hand and throwing it off the cliff. He wondered if he could just roll away from his problems like the rock.

"Also, if you don't make a move, someone else will."

That got his attention.

Red turned, meeting Green's eyes fiercely, "What do you mean _someone_ else?"

"She's a smart, funny and pretty girl," Green said with a shrug. Red recognized the look in his friend's green eyes, it was the same look he would give when issuing Red a challenge when they were kids. Back then it was over who could run the furthest or eat the most cookies, but now it was personal. "You even said I get too flustered by girls, maybe if I try my chance with Blue she can help me out. I mean, if you're not interested."

Red scowled at Green who simply sent him a wide, toothy grin. There was something annoying about the Oak men and their smilies. Regardless of how obnoxious Green was being about it, Red knew what he had to do.

"Now I kinda wish you dragged me out here to come out to me," Red said, rising to his feet and swatting the dirt from his jeans.

"Yeah, you _would_ wish that," Green said, throwing an arm over his best friend's shoulder as they made their way back into the cave. Red felt heart pound as they walked back to the campsite, where his problems lay nestled inside a warm sleeping bag.

* * *

Red was right about being close to the exit of Mt. Moon as the trio finally exited the dark path to sunny, fresh air of Route 4. In the distance, Cerulean City crept closer and closer into view.

"I'm excited to see Gran again," Blue said with a smile as Charmeleon walked alongside her like a bodyguard. Red couldn't know for sure, but he could swear he felt a hostile aura coming from the fire-type ever since Pewter City. "She's going to be so impressed by the Pokémon I've caught."

Too busy in her own thoughts, Blue didn't notice that the two boys to her side were currently exchanging glares and signs like football players calling a play. After minutes of flailing around, Green took matters into his own hands, which Red less than appreciated.

"Oh wow, look at that!" Green said, too enthusiastically to sound even remotely natural. "An Oran Berry tree! Hey, Charmeleon wanna get some berries with me?"

At the sound of berries, the Charmeleon instantly perked and Red felt Pichu peek from beneath his hat, jumping from his head to Green's shoulder at the promise of berries.

"Okay, we'll be over there," Green said, thumbing a tree in the distance. "You guys just stand there alone."

Red stared deadpan as Green hurried over to the tree, leaving him alone with the girl who spent the past few days avoiding him like the plague.

"Well, _that_ was obvious," she said, turning to Red who nearly jumped at the direct interaction. How long had it been since Blue talked to him without it being an order or a scold?

"I mean, not that I'm surprised," she continued, kicking dirt around with her sneaker. "We have been acting pretty weird, huh?"

"Yeah," Red felt his tongue swell up, making forming a sentence seem impossible.

They stood in silence for what was probably only seconds but to Red felt like hours. Maybe days...months?

No, it was only seconds. He decided to focus on Blue, who was currently fiddling with her hat, unable to form words either.

Weren't they best friends before? What insane alternate-reality did Red enter when he went into that Clefairy exhibit that brought him into this crazy world where he couldn't even talk to Blue, the girl who basically lived at his house for over a decade?

Blue sighed, letting go of her hat to look up at Red. Her blue eyes were sparkling in the sunlight and Red felt his heart pound faster as his focus locked on her pink lips. For the life of him he could only think of how nice it felt to kiss her and how badly he wanted to do it again.

"Listen, I just wanted let you know something," she said finally, and Red was even more mesmerized by her rosey lips as they shaped around every syllable.

Red felt his heart jump into his throat as his rib cage filled with a familiar flutter. He knew that look! He saw it a million times on those sappy soap operas his aunts always watched - Blue was about to confess to him!

With that out of the way, all he had to do was let her know he returned her feelings, which was a lot easier than him confessing first. It was perfect!

"I'm...I'm…"

Here it comes!

"I'm sorry for the other day," she finished and Red felt both his heart and stomach drop to his feet.

Wait, sorry?

That couldn't be right, sorry wasn't a confessional word. That's what the girls on the soap operas would say to the guys they weren't into. To the guys they didn't kiss in the sparkly, dark museum exhibit! The fluttering in his ribs turned into a punch in the gut and Red no longer felt like he had enough air in his lungs to breathe.

"You're sorry?" Red echoed, as it was all he could muster with his tongue growing three sizes too large for his mouth. He felt like a human Lickitung.

"Yeah," she said, her cheeks flushed so adorably. "I got a little over-emotional and then things kinda spiraled out of control there. On top of that I treated you like you did something wrong and you didn't, and for that I'm sorry. The whole thing was just a giant clusterfunk and I just shouldn't have kissed you at all."

Red's mind went blank.

"Oh," he managed, but didn't have time to try to formulate a sentence as Blue's face quickly changed from an awkward flush to complete disbelief and shock.

"OH MY GOD!" she screamed, covering her face with her hands, her eye's wide and fixated on something behind Red. Quickly, he looked over his shoulder to see a black blimp slowly crashing into the Cerulean Gym in the distance in a fiery mess.

On it was a large red "R."


	13. Team Rocket

Gary Oak could barely see in front of him, his eyes blurry from the black eye he sustained during his latest altercation with the guards. Though that was mostly his fault for talking back, but really he was a smart enough man to know that pretty much every member of Team Rocket wanted his head on a silver platter at this point. He had taken way too many of them down in his younger days.

The guards pushed him through the hallway, passing several other cells of notable Pokémon trainers, including Cedric Juniper, an old colleague of his grandfather's from Unova. Gary turned away, not really interested in feeling more terrible about the situation they all found themselves in. One of the guards ran up ahead, opening a sliding door which led to a room that by now had become quite familiar: the interrogation room.

"Such a gentleman," he quipped with a smirk at the guard as he passed.

He was pushed into the linoleum chair forcefully, his shackles tied slightly tighter than usually to the back of the chair due to his little joke, or maybe not. The Rockets _really_ weren't a big fan of his. After he was secure, the guards turned to leave.

"You're not even going to offer me water?" he said, faking shock. "Way to be rude to your guest, fellas."

The same guard from the door turned angrily, his fist raised. Gary braced for impact, but it never came.

"Stop!" came a voice, and Gary turned to see that it was Cassidy, the blonde leader of the team. Her eyes narrowed as she turned from Gary to the Grunt. "Do not let this imbecile make a fool of you."

The guard nodded, saluting his superiors before following his teammates out, slamming the door behind them. Gary let out a long whistle.

"Well, well, well," he said, leaning back in his chair with his feet. "Looky here, they brought in Mama Bear to ruffle me up this time!"

"Can it, Oak," Cassidy spat, sitting opposite of him at the small table. In her hands she held a fat manilla folder with a red "Classified" label stamped on top, a prop that Gary was sure only existed in spy movies. "I have some important questions that I need to go over with you."

"Are they any different than what your little lapdog Butch has been asking me for the last two weeks?" Gary raised an eyebrow. "By the way, saw the ring. Congrats on becoming the world's most obvious beard."

"Now, now, don't be angry just because my Butchy killed your wife," Cassidy smiled venomously. "And let's be fair here, your Arcanine did rip off his arm. How's the old saying go, a wife for an arm makes the whole world more alarmed?"

Gary felt his entire body tense as Cassidy let out a shrill laugh, taking hold of the folder and tapping it on the table to neaten its contents. His blood boiled with every rap against the plastic surface.

"Ah yes," she said, placing the folder back on the table. "It seems that Olivine City still hasn't found a new gym leader worthy of her post since we brutally murdered her at the lighthouse, eh? Ironically they did name it after her, but unfortunately we've been far too busy to make time out to go and visit the Jasmine Oak lighthouse."

"SHUT UP!" Gary roared, feeling his body strain against his holdings and Cassidy let out another laugh.

"There's nothing I love more about my job than tormenting people I hate," she smiled. "But let's get down to business, shall we? As you may know there's been a bit of movements within the world of For-Profit Pokémon Excursions. "

"That's a very PR friendly way of saying Pokémon Crime Syndicates," Gary said, earning himself a glare as Cassidy continued.

"This changing landscape has recently left Team Rocket at a severe disadvantage to our competition, though we do have one asset they do not have. Do you know what that is?"

Gary frowned, remaining silent but Cassidy didn't wait for his answer anyway.

"That's right," she said, taking the folder and pushing it towards him. Her perfectly manicured finger opened the file, pointing to fuzzy picture of a teenage girl with long brown-hair talking to a tall boy with green-hair in a black cap. "The last Conduit."

Cassidy threw a Poké Ball in the air, revealing a Tangrowth.

"Seriously?" Gary said as he squinted, staring at the fuzzy photo. "You guys are worth billions but you can't even afford a decent photographer?"

He looked up to see Cassidy had taken a seat on the table and was mere centimeters from his face. Behind him, Tangrowth took a stance, its long arms extended.

"What ar-ACK!" Gary gaged as Tangrowth's vine-like arms found their way around his neck.

"She was seen with your son, Oak," Cassidy said, sternly. "Now tell me, who is she?"

Gary remained silent, gasping for air when Cassidy would make Tangrowth release him only to have the Pokémon's grip return a second later. Even in his oxygen reduced mind, Gary knew she needed him alive, but that didn't mean she wouldn't come as close to killing him as possible.

"Well, if you're not going to talk," she said with a snap as Tangrowth released him again with a gasp and series of coughing. "Then I guess I'll have to go get your son instead since they seem so close."

"Go to hell!" Gary choked, as Tangrowth's vines extended again. This time taking a hold of his arms in a bone-crushing grip.

There was a flurry of steps at the door and Gary was relieved of Tangrowth's attacks when the Grunts from earlier reappeared at the door. His head hit the table hard as his body collapsed in on itself.

"Leader Cassidy, sorry to interrupt," said one of the guards eying Gary. "But the attack on Cerulean City has commenced."

Though his body in pain, at the sound of the city name he looked up at Cassidy who had returned the Tangrowth to its Poké Ball and was currently taking back her folder.

"Excellent," she smiled, turning to Gary to tap him affectionately on his stubble-ridden cheek. "Lovely chat, but I have bigger fish to fry. Don't worry, I'll be back soon."

Cassidy made her way out of the room, turning to the guards, "You can bring him back to his cell now, but make sure to make it unpleasant."

* * *

Red's chest was on fire.

Running as fast as his legs could go, for the first time in his life he was grateful for his thin frame as it allowed him the ability to barrel through the checkpoint leading into Cerulean City. Weaving between guards who attempted to stop him, he would deal with that when his family wasn't in danger, but right now he had bigger worries than showing some overpaid mall cop his Pokédex. Extending his long arms to support him, Red jumped a turnstile and pushed forward into the city where he was greeted by the scene of the only home he ever knew burning to the ground.

He felt a hand on his back, and Red turned to see Blue. Her cheeks were flushed from running.

"I'm gonna find Gran," she said, and Red nodded before turning to Green

"Go with her," he found himself ordering. He wasn't sure when he became the leader of their posse, but if there was any time for his bossy-genes to show themselves it was now. Green nodded and followed the long haired girl down the road.

Volunteers from the local fire department were already on the scene and Red threw Wartortle ball into the air and the water-type appeared in a flash of white light. Red didn't waste a moment and immediately instructed his starter to assist in efforts. After soaking himself in Wartortle's spray, Red ran into the building to find his aunts and mother.

The gym was hot and around him Red's senses were flooded with the smell of smoke, the heat the fire and the visuals of the trainers and their water-types attempting to extinguish the flames. He lifted his shirt to cover his face, but the smoke burned his eyes. Under his hat, he felt Pichu's steady pulses of electricity run through his body.

"You okay up there, buddy?" he said and he felt the pulses strengthen in affirmation.

Pushing against evacuating trainers and Pokémon, Red eventually found his aunts leading the evacuation efforts. When he reached the main pool, Daisy was the first of his family he saw and her face twisted in anger the second she saw him.

"Red!" she demanded, her usual tone stiffened as a her two sisters helped a couple of trainers carrying final crates of Pokémon out the Gym. "What the hell are you doing here?

"I'm here to help," Red said, his voice muffled by his shirt. "Where's mom?"

"Are you freaking crazy?" Daisy ignored him, taking her nephew by the shoulders. "You need to get out of here!"

There was a crash as the wall that connected the living quarters to the Gym's main pool crumbled, revealing Misty on the back of her prized Gyarados fighting what appeared to be a handful of men dressed in dark uniforms. Red recognized the R on their chests to stand for Team Rocket.

"Gyarados, hyper beam!" she ordered and the large dragon-type Pokémon opened its mouth wide, releasing a bright beam of energy. The attack burst through the wall, leaving only three trainers standing with their Scizor, Ursaring and Haxorus respectively.

"Mom!" Red called, running towards his mother. The crashed wall allowed for ventilation and most of the smoke from the blimp crash traveled out of the crater in puffs of dark clouds.

"R-Red?" Misty stammered as her son ran towards her. "NO! STAY BACK!"

Red skidded a stop as the three grunts switched their attention from Misty to the teen. With a smile, one of the black-cladded goons pointed to the boy.

"Ursaring!" she called. "Quick attack!"

"Gyarados, reflect!" Misty called desperately and the water-type's eyes glowed as a reflective shield appeared before Red. The Ursaring hit the shield headfirst, sending it flying into his trainer and both tumbling into the pool. Red turned to see his mother, her viridian eyes not filled with the usual fire but...fear?

"Daisy!" she turned to her older sister who nodded and Red felt her grab his arm in attempt to get him out of the rapidly decaying building. Red overpowered her, however, and slid out of her grasp like butter.

"Sorry, Aunt Daisy," he said, maneuvering out of her grip and running to his mother's side. Instantly, Daisy felt that she was missing one of her Poké Balls.

"Red!" she called. "Get back here!"

Red skidded in front of his mother, throwing the Poké Ball into the air to reveal Dewgong. Though only having one badge, Dewgong recognized Red and squealed in delight, seemingly unaware of the dire situation at hand.

"Dewgong, hit Haxorus with your ice-beam attack!" he ordered as the Pokémon happily complied. The Haxorus was down a second later, taking a super-effective attack that hit both him and his trainer. Red turned to his mother, "Mom, let me help you!"

"Red, please you don't understand what you're getting yourself in-" she stopped when she saw the final grunt's Scizor rushing towards her son. "Gyarados!"

The water-type was too slow, however, as the Scizor was instead stopped by a powerful flamethrower attack. Turning to the crashed wall, Red saw Blue and Green standing, with Charmeleon and Ivysaur at their sides. Misty looked less than pleased as Green ordered Ivysaur's vine whip to throw Scizor's trainer out of the gym.

"This isn't a game, Red!" she yelled, turning to her son. "Why are you being so stubborn?!"

"Because I'm _your_ son," he shot back as Green and Blue ran their side of the Gym.

"Sorry we're late," Green said, as Blue ordered Charmander to throw another flamethrower attack at Scizor. "We got Blue's Grandmother to the Pokémon Center, is this the last of them?"

"No…" Misty said, as Blue finished off the Scizor. "It's not."

"What do you mean?" Red asked as half the lights of the main gym went out.

"Daisy!" Misty yelled, turning to her older sister. "Get out of here, you don't have any Pokémon!"

"But what about-"

"Forget about us," Misty said, eyeing her son and his friends. "Make sure everyone is out and that the wreckage isn't still burning."

Daisy nodded and exited the gym, climbing over piles of still smoldering debris. Soon there was a loud clapping noise and Misty turned to Red as Gyarados circled around them like a snake.

"Stay close," she said in a soft voice and two figures emerged from the darkness.

In the light, Cassidy's blonde hair glowed like an aura, her lipstick red smile pulled into a smirk as she continued to clap her hands in applause. Next to her was a man who Misty recognized as her partner Butch, who like Cassidy looked the same asides from his green hair was now slicked back with gel and he was missing his right arm.

"Why hello there, Misty-kins," Cassidy said with a smile. "Gosh, you really let the place go didn't you?"

"Yeah a little blimp with _your_ insignia dropped in," Misty shot back and Red felt a bit of relief at the return of his mother's fire. "Hard to prepare for a houseguest who destroy half you gym, huh?"

"Still as rude as ever, brat," Butch called, his hand pulling the Poké Ball on his belt and within seconds a Tentacruel landed in the large pool. Zeroing in on a target, its tentacles reached over Gyarados heading straight for the trio. Misty and Red turned to see Green jump in front of Blue, getting caught and reeled back towards the pool.

"GREEN!" Red screamed as the Tentacruel held the teen in the air above the pool.

"What can I say?" Butch said with a devilish grin. "I like to kill Oaks."

"Oh Butchy," Cassidy laughed. "You can't have all the fun. I have a little surprise, too!"

Pulling a ball from her waist, an Arcanine appeared in a flash of white light with a roar, "Look familiar, kiddo?"

"Does that mean…" Green managed, looking at his father's Pokémon. "No…"

Green screamed in pain as Tentacruel's grip intensified around his body, and Red turned to the sea lion Pokémon. From his hat, Red felt the pulses from Pichu grew stronger. He felt like a live-wire, but Red knew better than to send the tiny mouse into battle.

"Get him out of there," Red called, pointing at Green. "Aurora beam!"

Dewgong's horn began to glow as Butch snapped his fingers and a the Tentacruel's reared back, shooting a fury of small poison stinger from it's horn. Dewgong avoided the attack, but Misty screamed as the stingers missed its desired target and headed straight for her son. Red closed his eyes, preparing himself for an impact that never came. Instead, he opened his eyes to see the Blue had flung herself onto him, clinging to him in a tight embrace, the poisoned stingers hitting her in the back.

"Blue…" Red managed as the girl looked up at him, her blue eyes watering with tears.

"Figured I...owed you one," she managed before losing her consciousness.

Red collapsed with her on the floor, gathering her up against his chest. He tried not to panic as his brain attempted to comprehend the situation. Before him, he watched as his mother's Gyarados fought against the Tentacruel, trying to free Green from its clutches. Ivysaur and Charmeleon stood before the two teens, knowing better than to get in the way of the giant water-type.

Red felt the electricity pounding through his body.

In his arms, Blue stirred and Red's heart jumped into his throat as she opened her eyes, appearing as if she wasn't just shot up with enough poison to take down a Kangaskhan. The only evidence left of her attack were some ripped spots on the back of her shirt. The two teens exchanged looks, both confused as hell before Blue took notice of something else.

"Red!" she gasped. "Your hand!"

"What," he said, looking down to see that his hand was currently sparkling bits of electricity. "What the hell…"

There was a crash and the teens looked up to see that Arcanine and Tentacruel had defeated Gyarados, sending its trainer tumbling towards the floor. Red called out to his mother as Blue and him scurried to their feet, but Misty stopped them with her hand.

"N-no," she managed, slowly raising to her feet. "I...I know what they want."

Cassidy raised an eyebrow, "Oh, you do now?"

"Yeah," Misty said, slowly walking towards the blonde. "You want me, right? Then leave these kids alone...they didn't ask for this war. Let the boy go and I will come with you, peacefully."

"No!" Red called, and his mother shot him a look that finally silenced him before turning back to the Rocket Leaders.

"I mean it," the redhead said, her arms in the air. "I promise."

Seeming to like this arrangement, Butch snapped his fingers and in an instant Tentacruel had dropped Green on the side of the pool. Desperately, Blue ran to her fallen friend, gathering him up in her arms.

Red stood still as his mother walked towards her captors, unable to move something inside himself was winding tighter and tighter. Like a spring, and the electricity from Pichu was rushing through him so intensely that he heard his heart beat in his ears. Everyone appeared to be moving in slow motion, as Cassidy laugh turned to a gasp as she turned and saw Blue.

"That girl…" the blonde hissed, obviously throwing her end of the bargain out the window. Charmeleon hurried to his trainer's side, but Red saw everything before it happened.

Charmeleon's failed attack, Cassidy's capture of Blue, Butch ordering his Tentacruel to attack his mother...everything played before him like someone had opened a book to the last page and shown him.

"PICHU PI!" called the tiny Pokémon from under his hat and Red exploded like a supernova.

Every bit of electricity that was coursing through him erupted from his body like a dormant volcano, and Red felt the power leave his body, draining him of everything before going dark. As if a fuse had blown in his mind or a power outage.

Did he just...die?

His mind worked enough for him to feel himself be thrown into the pool - he guessed one of the Pokémon got a hold of him. He heard Blue scream his name and felt the roar of the water as something else splashed around him. He saw the beautiful blue sky from the destroyed roof of the gym, filtered by the waves of water that consumed him - then came a hand, ripping him out of the pool like a claw machine. As Red flickered between consciousness, he heard more than he saw - the roaring voices of both Pokémon and humans, people calling his name, and the crumbling of concrete. When his eyes worked again, he saw the hatted figure of a man riding a Charizard, with what looked like a Pikachu on his shoulder.

Then everything went dark.


	14. Mt Silver

Misty kept her head high as she was lead through the winding hallways of the Rocket interment building. Young grunts hooted and hollered as she passed them, others high-fived or applauded the successful efforts of their leaders.

"How's it feel to have your wings clipped, Queen Bee?" called a young, female grunt who threw her empty coffee cup at Misty as she passed. The redhead dodged the cup easily, and continued walking until she was lead to the hallway of cells holding her fellow Kanto leaders.

"Oh shit," came the voice that Misty instantly recognized as Lt. Surge. His usually spiky-blonde hair had grown saggy and mangled during his capture. "They got you, kid?"

"It is all over," came the soft voice of Janine from the same cell, though her figure sat in the back, cloaked in darkness.

Misty looked away as her guards led her to the cell on the other side of the hall. With the swipe of a card key, the large wall of bars shifted and Misty was pushed into the cell. The bars and lock closed loudly as the guards left the hall.

"Welcome home, Mrs. Ketchum," broke the voice of the figure sitting in the corner and Misty almost sighed in relief when she recognized the voice of Gary Oak's.

"Thank god," she said, making her way to the man who was too clouded in darkness to fully see. "I was worried when I didn't see you in the other cells."

"Heh, they're gonna need to do more than rough me up to get rid of me," Gary said, leaning into the tiny bit of light the cell provided. Misty gasped when she saw him, her hands covering her mouth. "Yes, I know, not my best hair day."

"Oh my god, Gary," she said, sitting next to her old friend and lightly running her fingers over his black eyes, bruised neck and various other injuries. "What the hell did they do to you?"

"Everything but kill me," he attempted to laugh but it quickly turned to a cough.

"He also talked back," came Surge's voice from across the room. "A lot."

"How unsurprising," Misty frowned and the brown-haired man smiled.

Gary readjusted his sitting situation to be a little less uncomfortable, stretching his battered limbs slowly.

"Enough talk about me," he said, leaning against the wall. "Tell me about the kids, Queen Bee. How's Green doing?"

"They're all as stubborn and stupid as we were," Misty sighed and noticed that Gary didn't even try to hide his pride. If he wasn't such a beaten mess she would've hit him, but instead she just ignored him. "They tried to help me defend the Cerulean Gym when the Rockets attacked."

"You got Rockets?" Gary said with an impressed whistle. "I got some Team Flare guys."

"Janine and I got those Aqua and Magma grunts," Surge called. "I heard from Birch in the cantine that those guys aren't around anymore, though. Same with Flare and Galactic."

"They're merging together with Plasma and killing their leaders," Gary said, and Misty's face blanched. "Cassidy basically told me during one of our little kumbayas. She's scared, though, and I think it's because Rocket is the only group that hasn't been overtaken yet."

"Makes sense," Misty said, pulling her knees to her chest as she lean against the wall next to her husband's childhood friend. "Cassidy saw Blue."

Gary cursed burying his head in his hands, "Did they get the kids?"

"No," Misty said, resting her head on her knees. "He got to them first."

* * *

Red woke up on a bed and wondered for a moment he he actually had died.

His head pounded and the brightness of the room he was in wasn't helping. Sitting up, the sunlight hurt his eyes and he reached instinctively around the bed for his hat. He eventually found it at the end of the mattress, but was disappointed to see that Pichu was not curled inside it like usual.

There was a noise at the door and Red turned to see Daisy Oak enter the room.

"Oh," she said with a small smile. "You're awake."

Unlike her brother and grandfather who had chosen to become Pokémon Professors, Daisy used her caring nature to go into medicine for humans. She had her brown hair tucked behind her ears as her green-eyes read from a notebook she pulled from her white coat. Red felt his face warm as he realized he was only sitting in his boxers and hat. He had often fantasized about a similar situation between him and his best friend's aunt during long showers, but now felt really creepy and dirty even though she was a good 20 years his senior.

"Let me just take your blood pressure," she said, taking his arm and Red was absolutely sure that this was what was going to kill him. Not Team Rocket, or whatever it was that sent him into this state - but Daisy Oak touching his bare arm to take his blood pressure.

"Alright," she said with a smile as she backed away to stand at his bedside. "You seem to be alright, how do you feel?"

"I feel okay," Red said, keeping his sentence short incase he accidentally let on how incredible uncomfortable and confused he was that Daisy Oak was checking his blood pressure.

Stupid sexy Oaks.

"You've been out for two days, but it seems to be because your body was recovering from the shock of what happened in Cerulean City," she said, sticking her hands in her pockets with an impish grin. "Ha...shock. That was funny."

Red raised an eyebrow, having no idea what the hell she was talking about.

"Anyway, we'll talk more later," she said, turning to the door to leave.

"Wait, Daisy!" Red said and the brunette turned around quickly. "Um...sorry, but where am I?"

"Oh, silly me, I totally forgot to tell you," the Oak girl said, mockingly hitting herself on the head with her fist. "You're at Mt. Silver."

Mt. Silver?

"Oh looks like the cavalry is here," said Daisy as she left the door open. Without a second passing, the sounds of stampeding footsteps rumbled down the hall and towards Red's door, revealing Green, Blue and his Pokémon.

"He's up!" said Green with a smile, his arm held in a splint as Blue jumped to his bed, Wartortle, Oddish and Pichu behind her.

"W-wait!" called Red as Blue tackled him in a hug. "I'm not decent!"

"Oh shut up, loser!" Blue said, her grip around him tight. "We thought you were dead!"

"And by 'we' she means her," Green laughed, sitting at the end of the bed. "How're you feeling?"

"Okay, I guess," Red said as Blue scooted back to allow Red's Pokémon to hug their trainer. "I mean, I got woken up by your foxy aunt, so that's a plus."

"Well, at least your brain didn't get anymore scrambled," Green sighed, rolling his eyes while Blue blushed. "Do you remember anything that happened?"

"Um…" Red said, scratching Pichu behind the ears as Wartortle and Oddish jumped under his blankets for a short nap. "I remember you getting caught by the Tentacruel and then Blue getting hurt...that's about it."

"Anything else?" Blue asked.

"Nope."

"Nothing even _sparking_ a memory?" Green pushed and Red's brows furrowed.

"No, what is it?" he said, frowning. "What happened? And how did we get up on Mt. Silver?"

Blue and Green exchanged looks before turning back to Red, obviously uncomfortable.

"Listen, how about you get dressed and meet us downstairs?" Green said, sitting up from the bed. "We'll fill you in then."

Reluctantly, Red nodded as his Pokémon jumped from the bed, following his friends out the door. Before leaving Blue turned to him.

"Don't touch anything electric!"

"What?!"

"_Blue!_" Green called and the girl quickly left closing the door behind her.

Red sighed, annoyed at this current situation before kicking his feet over the bed. He made his way to the end table that held a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. They weren't his, but he wasn't one to care about what kind of clothes he wore. After stepping into the jeans and pulling the shirt over his head, he reached for his cap to see that Pichu was sitting inside it. The tiny Pokémon had stayed behind.

"Hey, what's up?" Red smiled, and the electric mouse smiled wickedly at his trainer. "Uhh, what's with the grin?"

Pichu shot a thunderbolt at his trainer, sending him back and over the bed frame. Sitting up he pointed at the yellow mouse.

"What the hell was that?!" he shouted, quickly stopping when he noticed the sparks spinning around his hand. "Woah."

Happily, Pichu jumped across the room and onto the mattress with a bounce. Red stared at his hands as the sparks of electricity flowed through him. Suddenly, he remembered the Cerulean gym battle and feeling himself explode like a supernova.

"Is this...normal?" he asked the tiny electric-type who shrugged.

Centering all the power to one hand, Red made his way to the window and shot a thunderbolt outwards, hitting a nearby tree. Hit by the lightening, the tree disintegrated leaving nothing behind but ash around the crisp white snow.

"Holy shit!" he explained, as Pichu jumped around happily. Red felt his body tremble at the lack of energy, but picked up Pichu and shot out of the bedroom.

"Guys! Guys! Guys!" he shouted, his socks skidding around the wood floors as he spun around the corner. "Something weird is-"

He froze at the stop of the stairs, below him on the sofa sat Green and Blue and across from them an older man and blond haired girl. However, what made him freeze was the tall figure of a dark haired man talking to Daisy, his red hat covering his messy hair. The commotion by Red caused him to turn to the stairs, making eye contact with the boy. He smiled, his brown eyes deep, holding some unspecified sadness.

"Hey son," Ash Ketchum said, the Pikachu on his shoulder blinking. "Hope you're feeling better."


	15. Blue

"Way to be subtle!" Green scolded as Blue pouted and stuck her hands in the pockets of her sweater. While exploring the house earlier, she had found an old the pullover that had proven quite useful in the chilly, mountain cabin. At her feet, Red's Wartortle and Oddish followed her.

"Sorry," she said as they walked down the stairs to the sofa. "I just didn't want him to like, rub his socks on a rug and use the static electricity to go nuclear again."

Green rolled his eyes at the girl as he flopped on the sofa, Blue following suit. Across from them sat Blaine, the old Cinnabar Gym leader and a blonde girl around their age named Yellow. The blond was quiet, but Blue could tell she was naturally good with Pokémon, as Red's instantly jumped into her lap from the stairs. Adjacent, Green's Aunt Daisy was sitting at the kitchen table, going through a clipboard of everyone's medical notes.

"Good news, Green," said the boy's aunt. "Your arm isn't as bad as I thought. If you rest it for a week or so, you should be fine, but nothing is broken or fractured."

"Well, that's a relief," Green said, looking down at his arm in the splint. "Can I take off this thing now?"

Daisy turned to her nephew as he waved his arm, trapped in the splint so he looked like a penguin.

"Hmmmm," said the doctor, tapping her pen against her lips before it curled into a smile. "Wait until tomorrow."

Blue couldn't hold back her giggles as Green's face fell, obviously he had expected a different answer. He waved his unbendable arm in the air, annoyed.

"Y'know, you haven't been able wash your arm since we got here," she teased, pinching her nose with her forefinger and thumb. "It's gonna rot off eventually."

"Oh," Yellow said, her voice tiny as she gently pet the Wartortle and Oddish in her lap. "I didn't know that could happen."

Green's ears grew red as he turned to Blue, sending her a look. Knowing that Green could never really stay mad at her, Blue stuck her tongue at him, teasingly.

"Yellow," Blaine said in his low, gravelly voice. "What do you call someone who believes it when someone else calls them gullible?"

The blonde shrugged, her face blank as if uncaring on whether she learned the answer or not.

"Gullible," the man answered and from the kitchen table Blue could've sworn she heard Daisy snort.

The small talk was interrupted by a loud cracking noise from the backyard. Yellow and Blue turned, and Blaine shrugged it off.

"It's probably Mr. Boss Man coming in," he said and quickly the door opened, revealing a dark-haired man in a red hat. His face was red from the cold weather, and he quickly opened his bomber-jacket to reveal the tiny, light yellow fur of his Pikachu. Shaking off some stray snow, he picked up the aging Pokémon and placed him on his shoulder.

"Hey guys," the man greeted with a smile before turning to Daisy. "Anything new?"

"Yes," the woman said, getting up from her seat to walk over to the man. "For one thing, your son is awake."

Blue watched as the man's eyes narrowed, his brows furrowed slightly with a nod. Daisy continued talking, though her voice so low that Blue couldn't make out anything. She has only met Ash Ketchum 48 hours ago when he had swooped into the Cerulean Gym with Blaine and Yellow to scoop the three of them out of danger, but there was something about the man that was inherently intriguing, asides from his twelve year long absence.

His dark eyes and messy hair reminded her of Red, and a huge part of her felt uneasy about the whole situation. Blue had only heard about Red's father from a mix of heroic tales when they were kids to angry one-sentence jabs as they got older. It was a complicated relationship - if it could even still be called that after over a decade of no communication. Blue's eyes traveled to Green, should they have warned Red in advance that it was his father that saved them?

There was a crash and within seconds the stomping noise of Red running down the upstairs hallway and towards the stairs echoed through the cabin.

"Guys! Guys! Guys!" he shouted as he turned the corner and stood at the top of the stairs, in his usual red hat and borrowed clothes he was unaware belonged to Ash. He looked down at everyone below, "Something weird is-"

Blue felt her heart jump in to her throat as she saw Red's face slowly drop at the sight of his father. His arms slacked enough for Pichu to jump from his hold, instead hopping over to snuggle between Green and Blue on the sofa.

Ash turned away from Daisy, making eye contact with his son. He smiled, his brown eyes sad as the Pikachu on he shoulder turned and sniffed the air. Blue figured he was probably remembering Red's scent - could it have changed in twelve years?

"Hey son," Ash finally said after what felt like an hour of everyone just staring at each other in heavy silence. "Hope you're feeling better."

Blue saw Red's eyes flicker with an emotion that she had only seen a few times in their lives and within a second he was running back up the hallway, slamming the door behind him. Instantly, Blue was on her feet, running after the boy until she reached his bedroom door. Unsurprisingly, he had locked it behind him.

"Red!" she ordered, pounding on the door with a balled fist. "Open up!"

Though she wasn't sure what she was supposed to really say to a guy who just saw his estranged father and probably also figured out he had super-zappy powers, Blue knew that locking yourself in a bedroom wasn't the best means of handling the situation.

"C'mon!" she yelled again, banging on the door with her fist. In the corner of her eye she saw that Oddish, Wartortle and Pichu had lined up on the stairs, worried about their trainer. "Red, please!"

There was still nothing, and Blue took that personality.

"All right, loser," she said, backing up to the end of the hallway, getting herself prepared in a running position. "If you're not going to come out, I'm just going to have to break down the door!"

Letting off like a rocket, Blue's feet pounded against the hardwood floor until she felt herself clotheslined as she was scooped up by a strong arm. Almost losing her balance, she felt the arm tighten around her and she looked up to see that it was Green.

"Woah woah," he said as they stabilized, leaning against the wall across from Red's door. "Listen, breaking doors down won't do anything. You gotta just let him, you know...figure it out."

Blue sighed, leaning against the boy's arm with a pout as she stared at the locked door.

"Fine," she said softly, turning away from Green. "Just keep your smelly arm away from me."

* * *

The rest of the night went by as uncomfortable as one would think after that. Blaine and Yellow cooked a small dinner which everyone ate like a strange, dysfunctional family with a big pink elephant in the room. Green had gone up to Red's door to ask him if he wanted anything to eat, but was replied with only silence. After dinner Blue would see him wrapping up leftovers to put into the refrigerator.

"You know," he shrugged when Blue asked. "For when he gets hungry later."

Daisy left soon after, giving Blue and Green a warm embrace as she left.

"Don't worry, honey," she said to her nephew, who was a good head taller than his aunt. "You guys will get everyone back, and I'll finally be able to give your father the physical he's been putting off for ten years!"

Green laughed uncomfortably at Daisy's strange sense of humor (though Blue wasn't sure the woman was entirely kidding) before she left the snowy top of Mt. Silver on her Altaria, heading back to her private practice in Goldenrod City.

After going inside, Blaine stretched with a yawn.

"Okay, kids," he said, turning to the three teens. "What has four legs that you can climb into but never ride?"

Green ignored the old man, choosing to instead take a book to read at the kitchen while Blue and Yellow sat on the sofa in thought. Ash took a seat next to Green, watching on in interest.

"A table?" Yellow asked and was disheartened when Blaine answered with a buzzer noise.

"Nope," he said, his gray mustache moving with his smile. "You can't climb a table, but you're on the right track. Blue, what do you think?"

"A chair?" she offered and was also answered with an annoying buzzer noise. She wondered if there was a way for Blaine to be less obnoxious about getting a question wrong.

"It's a bed," Green said finally, his eyes not leaving the book. "A bed has four legs and you climb into it when you go to sleep."

The two girls exchanged looks before looking at Blaine who erupted into laughter.

"Marvelous!" he laughed, turning around in his seat to look at Green over his sunglasses. "Nice one, Green!"

Green shrugged, his face still in his book. Next to him, Blue saw Ash smile slightly before turning to his sleepy Pikachu that had taking refuge on the table.

"Yes, Oak," Yellow said, her voice as even as always. "You're surprisingly clever."

At the (sorta) compliment, Green's blush wasn't just in his ears but had traveled to his entire face. Leaning so close to his book that Blue was sure he could smell the pages, Green attempted to hide his bashfulness.

"It's whatever," he managed, and that seemed good enough for Yellow who turned away from the boy to ask for another riddle.

Soon, Ash and Blaine went to bed before being followed by the teens. As they climbed the stairs, Blue paused by the Red's door, which remained closed. She wondered if Ash had done the same thing before following Red's Pokémon into Yellow's room to sleep on the floor.

* * *

Blue didn't sleep, though Yellow made it look easy as she and Red's team were all out the moment their heads hit the pillow. On the floor, Blue tossed and turned until she eventually gave up on any hopes of sleeping. Quietly, she made her way to the bathroom next door, but stopped when she saw Red's still locked door across the hall. Her bare feet rapping against the wood flooring, she lightly held the doorknob to see that it was still locked. Exasperatedly, she rested her forehead on the cool wood of the door.

"Stupid, jerk," she mumbled.

After Pewter, her relationship with Red seemed more complicated than ever. The awkwardness that instantly sprung between them made Blue feel even dumber about her feelings. To the point that when they finally had a moment to talk she completely rejected any idea of them being together at all. It seemed like the easier choice at the time, but all Blue could do was replay Red's look in her head and wonder...

She was torn from her thoughts when she heard a noise coming from the kitchen. Slowly, she made her way to the top of the stairs to see Green sitting on the kitchen counter, desperately trying to remove his splint with a knife.

"Hey," she said deviously as she took a seat on the bottom stair, her head resting in her hand. "Whatcha doing, Green?"

Startled, the knife in Green's hand nearly flew from his grip. Once he processed that the girl on the stairs was only Blue, who was currently in a fit of giggles, he relaxed.

"You shouldn't do that to people with knives in their hands," he scolded, as Blue rose from her seat and hopped onto the counter next to him.

"You're right, my bad," she smiled as she tucked a leg under her and adjusted the oversized T-shirt she had worn to bed. "What are you even doing?"

"Trying to get this stupid splint off," Green frowned, as he went back to hacking away at the hard plastic with his knife. "I don't care what my aunt said, I can't deal with it anymore. Do you know how itchy this shit is?"

Though Blue knew that she shouldn't laugh at Green's misfortune she couldn't help but smile at the green-eyed boy. Green usually always played by the rules, so it was refreshing to see him at least trying to color outside the lines.

"Here," she said, taking the knife away from him before he sawed off his entire appendage. "Let me help you."

Twisting her long hair to throw over her shoulder, Blue's slender fingers traveled across Green's arm, until finding the small plastic fasteners that held the contraption together. With a flick of her fingers, it was lose, popping opened like a clamshell.

Then came the smell.

"Ewwww!" Blue hissed, as she jumped from the counter holding her nose. "That's so freaking gross!"

Green puffed his cheeks, holding his breath comically as he ran to the kitchen sink to wash the stench from his skin. Still holding her nose, Blue grabbed the grotesque, used splint and threw it into the garbage, slamming the top for good measure. Green shushed her between chuckles, turning off the water as she handed him a dish towel to dry his newly freed arm. It only took a few seconds of silence for both the teens to erupt into a fit of giggles again.

"That was disgusting," Blue said, hopping back to her perch on the counter while Green leaned against the sink, still drying his arm.

"Yeah," Green smiled, looking up at the girl. "At least I can finally shower like a normal person now."

The two fell into a comfortable silence that was broken when Blue turned her attention to the staircase.

"He still hasn't come down, has he?" she asked and Green's face fell into its usual serious look.

"Not that I know of," he said, his eyes fixated on the sink. "I've only seen him like this once before."

"When?"

"When his dad first left."

Blue nodded, looking down at her feet dangling from the countertop. She had moved to Cerulean City shortly after Ash's disappearance, and since her house was right next door to the gym her first sight of the young boy was when he was sitting on his bedroom window sill, searching for his missing father.

"It's like I said before," Green said, bringing Blue back to their situation. "You just need to let him figure this out."

"But what even is _this_?" she said, motioning to where they were. "We're sitting in a cabin on top of Mt. Silver doing _what, _exactly?"

"It's the Underground," Green said, his eyes suddenly filled with sadness. "Or what's left of it anyway. During the days of Team Rocket's resurgence Red's dad, my dad and a bunch of other people gathered together to take them down. It seemed to be working until about twelve years ago when things got more...intense."

"Intense?" Blue echoed. "Why?"

"For something called the four Conduits," he explained. "People who could harness the powers of Pokémon - it was only seen as an old Johto legend until someone in Hoenn actually popped up with the power to harness Pokémon energy. Once he was killed by the Rockets, the Underground went into action to find the other three. They're saying one is the leader of Team Plasma, whoever that is, and the other one was killed by Team Rocket twelve years ago. That was the battle where my mother was killed."

Green stopped for a moment and Blue reached out a hand to touch his damp arm. He shrugged it off with a smile.

"No, it's okay," he said, clearing his throat before continuing. "Afterwards, me and dad moved to Pallet to take over Oak Labs and Red's dad left. I don't really know what happened or why, but him and my dad kept in contact. They've been trying to find the last Conduit."

"So...you knew?" came a voice and Blue and Green both turned to the staircase to see Red, his hat pulled low and covering his eyes. "And you never told me?"

"Red, please," Green said, backing up. "It was more complicated than that."

"It seems pretty simple to me," Red growled, storming down the stairs and getting up in Green's face. "You either knew or you didn't know."

"Red back up," Green said, growing annoyed and pushing Red away. "Get out of my face."

"No, answer the fucking question, Green!" Red shouted, taking the boy by the shirt.

"Get off me!" Green shot, and soon the two boys were tumbling around the tiny kitchen, hitting chairs and walls as they went.

"Hey!" Blue called, sprinting from her seat. "Knock it off, you two!"

The boys ignored her, as Red finally pinned Green to the wall nearest to the front door.

"How?!" he shouted, spit hitting Green right in the face. "How did you fucking know, asshole!"

"My...dad told me," Green spatted, trying to break out from Red grasp."Because unlike yours, he actually gave a shit about me!"

It was something Blue knew Green didn't mean, but in the heat of the moment, with them all just locked in a cabin in the middle of who-knows-where, he dug deep and hit below the belt. And of course, Red took the bait and both boys broke.

"Fuck you!" Red screamed, his voice breaking as he grabbed Green by the arms and flipped it into the door, breaking it open and letting in the cool mountain air.

The two boys feel to the ground, in the cold snow as the two of them fought for dominance. While Red had speed, Green had pure strength and managed to kick the other boy off him, sending him flying into the snow. Blue saw him reach for his arm, which was probably re-injured in the tackle.

"You're the worst friend in the fucking universe, Green!" Red screamed, taking a handful of snow and throwing it at the teen. "I fucking hate you!"

"I'm the worst friend?" Green called back, taking his own handful of snow to chuck. "I gave you everything ever since we were kids - God, I even gave you Blue!"

Blue's heart skipped and she watched as Red's face scrunched up in another painful yell as he got up for another tackle, which Green rolled out of the way for. Behind her, Blue heard the hurried footsteps of the other housemates, but she didn't turn around to face them.

"All you care about is yourself," Green shouted finally, standing up from the snow and turning around to go back to cabin. "You're such a fucking brat, Red, that's why nobody wants to deal with your bullshit."

Green marched back to the door, leaving Red in the snow alone. When he reached Blue the two of them made uncomfortable eye-contact before he moved passed her to lock himself in his own room.


	16. The Rockets

N felt the familiar emptiness of Plasma Castle when he entered through the large double doors. Instantly he was met by Anthea and Concordia, his nursemaids since childhood.

"Hello my lord N," Concordia said with a bow, her blonde hair falling over her shoulders and onto the castle floor. "I hope your travel was agreeable."

N didn't answer and instead instantly releasing his Pokémon from their balls - he hated having to keep them inside those wretched things. Without needing an order, Anthea kneeled down to heal his Darmanitan, Woobat and Zorua. Taking Zora into his arms, N turned to head to his bedroom, but was interrupted by Anthea placing a hand on his shoulder. He turned to frown at the pink-haired woman.

"My lord," she said, her voice even. "Your father wishes to speak with you."

N's frown deepened before letting out a sigh. With Zora softly mewing in his arms, he climbed up one of the many staircases to his father's chambers. Behind him, Woobat and Darmanitan followed their master, hissing at the Sages as they passed. N didn't stop them, and he saw Rood roll his eyes at the Pokémon. Instantly he stopped.

"Rood?" the young man said, staring ahead at the large silver and blue door at the end of the hall and the man.

"Oh," the old man answered. "Yes, my lord?"

"If I ever see you roll your eyes at my friends again," N said, turning to the man to express a wide smile. "I can promise you that I will personally rip them from their sockets."

Rood blinked, his face blanching from shock.

"Ah...yes, my apologies, my lord," he stammered, before turning away. "It will never happen again."

N nodded with a cheerful smile before heading through the large door and his smile vanished as he entered his least favorite room in the castle. Ghetsis was sitting in a large armchair when N arrived and smiled, his face wrinkling under his eyes and mouth.

"Good, I see Anthea sent you the message," he said with a low chuckle. "Happy to know that woman is good for something."

N remained silent, holding Zora close as Darmanitan sat behind his trainer quietly. Woobat flew to perch on top of a bookcase in the far corner of the room.

"You don't need to stand there, N," Ghetsis said, his voice drenched with exhaustion. "You can take a seat like a human being - that is, if you're acting like one today."

Knowing better, N's face remained blank, not allowing Ghetsis' jabs to affect him. He had outgrown those a long time ago. The older man sighed loudly, raising up from his chair.

"Fine, do as you wish," he said, pouring himself a drink. "I don't have time for coddle you today, boy. Now, did you meet with our dear friend Cyrus in Sinnoh?"

"Yes," N said finally, his face still stone. "He has been dealt with and the Sages have begun Galactic's integration process within Plasma."

"Excellent, with Galactic and Flare out of the way all that leaves us with are the Rockets."

"The Rockets?" N said, showing a little emotion in his confusion. "I thought we were allying with them."

"Don't be a fool, boy," Ghetsis said between sips. "In this world, your alliances fall the moment they stop being useful. Now that you've identified our target, Cassidy and Butch now fall into that category."

N's face fell as Ghetsis finished his drink and made a motion to his desk, his long cape flapping behind him. The teen felt his hands shake as he held Zora, who looked at him with large, red eyes.

"I want you to go to Kanto in the morning," Ghetsis said, twirling the ice in his glass with his wrist as he spoke. "Afterwards you will escort the target to me. You may use the Shadow Triad-"

"No," said N with finality.

Ghetsis looked at his son as if he had grown a second head. The word 'No' wasn't something he was used to hearing, and had to ask N to repeat himself.

"I said no," the green-haired teen said, looking up to make eye-contact with his father. "I've told you before, I don't like killing these people and neither do the Pokémon. They're not happy...they're hurting!"

From the bookshelf, Woobat let out a shrill cry in agreement.

Leaning back in his chair, Ghetsis took a long look at his son. His face contorted into a frown as N's eyes remained fixed on the floor. After a long time without speaking, the old sage finally let out a long, heavy sigh.

"I'm sorry, my child," he said, placing his hands on his face dramatically. "I was hoping I could spare this side of our mission from you, but it appears that I have no choice."

"What are you talking about?" N asked, his voice cracking as he tried not to cry. Meeting with his father were never easy, and always emotional. Oftentimes his feelings felt like water in his hands, dripping between his fingers and always out of his grasp.

Ghetsis didn't answer immediately, instead he stood from his chair to walk to small table on the other side of the room. He opened a velvet bag to bring out three Poké Balls, and throwing them in the air. In a beam of white light, a Purrloin, Timburr and Scraggy all appeared, each looking sickly, beaten and weak. Instantly, Zora jumped from its master's arms to sniff the Pokémon who flinched, frighten by the contact. N fell to his knees instantly, his heart aching so much that he felt like he was going to be sick.

"These are Pokémon owned by members of those teams," Ghetsis said, shaking his head. "They were abused and used for nothing other than petty battling. Luckily, we got to them in time to save them, but do you see why we must do what we do, my child? Why Team Plasma must prevail?"

N didn't respond, instead he crawled to the three injured Pokémon, and extended his hand. The tips of his fingers began to glow a soft, white light as he closed his eyes - instantly he felt their emotions run through his body and a trusting link was made. Within moments, the Purrloin, Timburr and Scraggy all came into his arms, eloping in a warm embrace. Consumed by their energy, N didn't even hear his father's footsteps as he neared him.

"My son," Ghetsis said, taking the boy by the chin and raising his eyes to meet his. "You are a Conduit, and with your powers we can stop this cycle of torment and liberate Pokémon - however, you cannot do that alone. We must find the last Conduit, as only you and her can bring peace to Pokémon. Do you understand?"

Silently, N nodded, his embrace around the tiny creatures in his arms tightening.

* * *

Cassidy knew she was missing something, and it was driving her crazy.

Sitting on her desk, she stared at the white board in her office, a cigarette dangling from her lips. After taking a final drag, her perfectly manicured fingers pulled the lipstick stained stick from her mouth to crush it into her ashtray. Within seconds, she pulled another from her pack and lit it quickly.

She stared at the board that was currently covered with several pictures of Blue, including the one from their spies at the Pewter Museum. Something about that girl stuck with her, but for the life of her Cassidy could not pinpoint what it was. It was a familiar sense of hatred - something she hadn't felt in years. Not since Olivine...

There was a knock at the door and her violet eyes traveled to the end of the office to see that it was only Butch. With a blink she was back to staring at the white board.

"So this is where you've been," he said, walking to her slowly. "What the hell are you even doing?"

"That girl," she said, pointing at her board. "I know that girl."

"Yes, she's friends with Ketchum's brat," Butch said, as if he was explaining the simplest thing in the world. "Now c'mon, let's go to bed."

Seeing that his wife's eyes were still fixated on the board, Butch wrapped his arm around her, and made a failed attempt to kiss her neck. She shrugged him off, nearly burning him with her cigarette. He pouted at her rejection.

"If you're lonely call up a Grunt," she said, her voice stern. "What's the name of the young one you like, Mark?"

"Rude," the blue-haired man said, running his hand through his locks as he looked away from her. "And he's busy tonight, anyway."

Cassidy ignored him, which only bothered Butch more.

"What's your obsession with this girl anyway? Is it the Tentacruel thing again?"

"She took a direct hit of poison sting and was back on her feet within seconds, Butch," Cassidy hissed before taking another drag of her cigarette. "That's just not normal."

"I told you, it probably just missed," he said, exasperated. "Why are you so sure she's the one anyway? You saw what Ketchum's kid could do - I think he's a bigger target than this basic brunette."

"No, there's something else about her," the blonde said, her eyes narrow. "Ghetsis wants her and I want to know why."

"I'm telling you, their intel is wrong," Butch said, resting his hand on his hip. "She aint a Conduit."

Suddenly, Cassidy's head rose up so quickly Butch was surprised her neck didn't snap. She quickly shoved her half-finished cigarette into the ash try before jumping off the desk and slipping on her boots.

"Where are you going?" he asked. Within moments she grabbed her jacket from the coat hanger.

"Internment building," she answered over her shoulder before grabbing the door knob. "Don't wait up."

Butch sighed as he took her used cigarette and lit it for himself, pulling out his Pokégear and flipping it opened to check to his messages. Maybe Mark _was_ free that night...

* * *

Walking across the darken streets of Celadon City, Cassidy walked to the internment building, which was housed underneath their newly re-opened Game Corner. With a swipe of her card key, a small freight elevator appeared and led her to its depths.

Unlike Giovanni, when Cassidy resurrected Team Rocket more than a decade earlier, she had bigger plans for them than stealing Pokémon. Under the guise of Rocket Enterprise, their casinos, poker parlors and Pokémon racing tracks could be found all over Kanto and Johto's major cities. However, as the old saying goes, a Girafarig never does change its spots.

The elevator stopped, opening to reveal a fleet of guards, who instantly bowed to their leader.

"Good evening, boss," said one Grunt as she passed. "Are you here to see the Gym Leaders?"

"Not this time," she said, though it did remind her to have a little chit-chat with her least favorite water-type trainer. "I will be on this floor though, but to Prisoner 001's cell."

The Grunt's head popped up, surprise clearly on his face.

"Prisoner 001?" he echoed. "Are you sure?"

Cassidy sent him a glare, and instantly he was back to bowing, sputtering an apology for questioning her actions as she walked passed him. If it were a normal day, she would have had Raticate make quick work of him, but tonight she had bigger plans.

The heels of her boots clicked against the linoleum flooring of the hall, and with another swipe of her card key she entered the glass room holding the "infamous" Prisoner 001. Wasting no time, she knocked on the glass with her fist awakening her sleeping target. After rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he looked to see who was standing at the glass.

"Cas...Cassidy?" he said, his voice as rough as sand paper.

"That's right," she smiled, venomously. "It's been a while, Meowth."


	17. Operation Blue & Yellow

Blue was beyond annoyed.

It had been two days since Green and Red's epic fight in the snow and they were still in a no-talking standstill. Considering their situation, she had taken it upon herself to create a plan for the two boys to make up, and was as creatively calling it "Operation Make Up."

With the morning sun beaming through the windows, Blue sat on the floor as she tied her long hair in a bun on her head as Jigglypuff, Charmeleon and Riolu assisted her in cutting out pieces of paper and putting them in place on her so-called "Master Plan" board. There was a knock on the door and the team turned to see Yellow walk in, sipping a juice box.

"Good morning," she greeted, her voice as even as always as she took a seat next to Blue. "What are you working on now?"

"Operation Make Up," she said as she scribbled another note on an index card, handing it to Jigglypuff to place on the board. "How about you, did you sit out on patrolling the area with Blaine and Ash?"

"Yes," the blonde nodded as she took a marker in her hand, twirling it between her fingers as she sipped her juice box lazily. "I have orders to make sure Oak is safe which trumps anything else in the Underground, except for attacks or ambushes. However, with him staying locked in his room most of the time, my job has become extremely boring."

"Wait a second," Blue said, turning to the girl and with a raised eyebrow. "You're in charge of making sure Green is safe?"

The tiny blonde nodded, taking another sip of her juice.

"You do know he's a Pokémon trainer, right? Like, he has his own team and is kinda skilled."

"Yes, but he is also a stupid boy," said the blonde, and Blue couldn't dispute that.

Even though after their fight Red would now venture out of his room for food and bathing, the two boys refused to speak and would instead bring their plates of food to their rooms. Not only was this stupid, it was also getting pretty gross. Blue was tired of seeing dirty dishes in front of their doors and having to constantly wait for the bathroom because those two morons were trying to avoid each other.

"Say," Yellow said, pointing to the board. "Are you doing all this because you feel guilty that a main stress between their friendship was that they both had a crush on you?"

Blue felt herself bristle like a cat before turning to the blonde.

"N-no!" she said with an awkward laugh and smile she hoped was convincing. "Don't be silly! I just want them to be friends again!"

Yellow raised an eyebrow as she took another sip of her juice and Blue knew she wasn't buying it.

"Whatever," Blue said, changing the subject. "I could use some help, do you think you're up to the challenge?"

"Challenge?" Yellow echoed, the word piquing her interest.

"Yeah, I can rename the operation if you want," Blue continued, pointing to the board with a marker dramatically. "Hey, why don't we can call it Operation Blue and Yellow? It totally sounds more official that way!"

"Oh," the blonde girl said with a slight blush and smile. "Okay!"

"Awesome," Blue smiled, extending her hand to the girl and shaking it. "Let the operation begin!"

Within the hour, Operation Blue and Yellow was underway and it didn't take long for the girls to realize that it was a total bomb. Though they had plans, boards and secret code names (Blue's was Agent Leaf and Yellow was Agent Double-X) they didn't calculate one thing: the stubbornness of teenage boys.

The ploy was to get the boys alone in the hall together, where Blue was sure the two would finally be forced to talk. The girls had stuck chewing gum on the doors, keeping them from opening.

"Do you think Leader Ash is going to be upset that we put gum on the door knobs?" Yellow asked, but her question was ignored as Blue watched like a hawk from the bottom of the stairs.

After Green left his room to get food and Red left to use the bathroom, when they returned though both boys were alone in the hall together, they were too busy trying to prey their respective doors open to pay attention to the other.

"Damn it," Blue whined as her and Yellow spied. "We forgot to take into account that their rooms are across from each other! They can't talk if only their backs are facing!"

"I never knew chewing gum could be so strong," the blonde noted, resting her chin in her hand. "Unless they are both incredibly weak."

"If only we can get them out of their rooms for a second," Blue said, again ignoring her partner. With her chin with her hand she thought aloud, "I wonder if there's a way we can open their doors?"

"Oh, is that all you need?" Yellow said, climbing the stairs with gusto. Blue felt the color drain from her face when the girl knocked on Red's door and waited patiently for the dark-haired boy to answer. When he did, he looked down the blonde, Pichu resting on his shoulder as he blinked at the short girl. "Hello, can you please keep your door opened for a moment?"

Red blinked a few more times, adjusting his hat before finally clearing his throat.

"Uh," he said, his voice hoarse from lack of use. "Who are you again?"

"Are you kidding me?!" Blue screamed from the foot of the stairs, her face red from anger. "That's Yellow, you idiot!"

"How the hell am I supposed to know that?" Red shouted down the stairs, pointing at Yellow. "I've never met her before in my life!"

"You've been living with her for almost a week!"

"Hey!" Green yelled, opening his door to join in on the fight. He placed his hand on Yellow's shoulder protectively, "Don't fucking yell at Yellow, asshole!"

"I'm not yelling at her," Red yelled at the other boy, before pointing at Blue. "I'm yelling at Blue!"

"Don't yell at me either, dick!" the brunette shouted from her place on the stairs.

The trio continued to argue, as Yellow's head went back and forth as if she was watching a tennis match. Eventually the boys angrily turned to go back to their rooms, only to find that their doors were still stuck with gum.

"Why is there gum on the doors?!" shouted both boys, their attention pinpointed at Blue like laser beams. The girl simply remained silent as both teens kicked their doors opened and retreated into their rooms. As the dust settled, Yellow turned to her partner.

"At least they interacted," she smiled. "Is that progress?"

"No!" Blue groaned as she walked over towards to sofa. She flopped into the cushions face first, letting out a long groan into the fabric. "This is hopeless! We're stuck in the this stupid cabin on top of Mt. Awkward Tension and not only are we being chased by one of the biggest crime syndicates in the world, but now my best friends hate each other!"

"I don't know if this is helpful," Yellow said, climbing to sit on the armrest of the couch. "But Team Rocket was always following you, you were just unaware of it."

"It's not, but I appreciate the effort."

"Why don't you simply talk to them individually?" Yellow offered as she swung her legs over the arm of the sofa and hopped off. "They don't seem to have any issue talking with you. I mean, door gum aside - by the way, we really should clean that up before Leader Ash and Blain return."

"I guess talking could help," Blue said as Yellow opened the refrigerator door. "I just don't want to mess anything up more."

"As long as you are honest, you should be fine," the blonde girl said with a smile as she kneeled in front of Blue's sprawled figure on the sofa. "Here, have a juice box, you'll feel better."

With a sigh, Blue reached out to take the tiny cardboard box. To her surprise, the blonde was right.

* * *

Green raised an eyebrow as Blue slowly entered his bedroom later that night, smiling a toothy grin as she closed the door behind her.

"Oh no," he said with a frown, sitting up in his bed and pointing at the door. His shirt was unbuttoned, revealing the ace-bandage that twisted around his shoulder. "No, no! Be gone, She-Demon! I'm still pissed about that gum crap!"

Blue's smile remained as she tucked her hair behind her ear, slowly making her way to the end of Green's bed. He didn't seem to notice as he was too busy lecturing her.

"Do you know what a pain in the ass that was to get off my door?" he said as she slithered into his bed like an Ekans, a smile still plastered on her face. "You even got Yellow involved too! She's such a sweet girl, you shouldn't get her wrapped up in your terrible behav-"

He paused when he noticed that Blue has crawled into his lap, her nose mere centimeters from his as her brown hair veiled them like a curtain. Her mouth was rested in a relaxed smile, her full lips curved upwards.

"Errrr," Green squeaked, his face as red as a tomato. His skin became instantly soaked in sweat as his green eyes locked with blue. Suddenly, Green forgot how to speak in coherent sentences. "Uh...duh..."

"I heard what you said to Red when you were fighting in the snow like overgrown babies," Blue finally said, her voice smooth as her eyes sparkled.

"Durgh..." Green replied, intelligently.

"That you let him have me?" she continued, her lips coming closer to his and Green was sure he was going to die, or throw-up on her. Either situation would end with his death, so he was pretty much doomed. His heart pounded in his chest as something snapped in his brain and suddenly he remembered how to talk and think - which were good things.

"Blue, wait," he hissed, his breath brushing against her lips like ink on paper. "I...I can't do this."

"Oh?" she replied, her head tilting to the side in curiosity. "But what you said outside...?"

"That's what I thought but..." Green looked away, the blush in his face fading as he gathered himself. "There's...someone else."

A palpable silence arose between them, luckily it was broken by Blue talking and not Green vomiting.

"I know," she smiled, rolling back to the edge of the bed to sit cross-legged. "Yellow, right? I so knew it!"

Blue punched the air in victory as Green blinked for a few seconds before it finally hit him what the brunette was up to. Instantly, he collapsed back on the bed, taking a pillow to his face and screaming into it. Seeing this, the teenage girl stuck her tongue out teasingly.

"You're the worse," he groaned, throwing the pillow at Blue who easily dodged it. "What the hell was that seduction crap for? Man, you totally freaked me out..."

"I wanted to make sure I was right about your feelings for Yellow," she said before Green shushed her and she rolled her eyes. "Relax, she's asleep."

"Still," Green blushed, covering his face with his hands before peaking through his fingers at Blue. "What if you were wrong, though? I could've totally ravished you with my smoldering masculinity!"

The girl raised an eyebrow, "Smoldering masculinity?"

Green pouted as Blue snorted loudly.

"But in all a seriousness," Green said, his face stern. "I'm sorry...you know, for acting like a jerk before. I didn't mean drag you into my fight with Red, it just sort of came out."

"It's okay," she said resting her head in her hands. "Sorry for the gum. It seemed like a good idea at the time."

Green shook his head before leaning up against the headboard of the bed.

"So, since everything is out," Green said with a small smile. "I never really had a chance, did I? It was always Red."

It was now Blue's turn to blush as she turned away from Green who bursted into a fit of laughter. Growing annoyed at his sniggering, the girl grabbed the thrown pillow to beat the chestnut haired boy to as much of a pulp as she could. Unfortunately, it just caused him to laugh harder.

* * *

When Red opened his door to see Blue he almost closed it on her.

Almost.

Unlucky for him, Blue had stuck her hand on the inside of the door, and even though he didn't want to talk to her that didn't mean he wanted to break all of her fingers. Her brows knitted and he looked down at her hand to see a bit of gum had stuck to it.

"Really?" she said, flipping her hand to show him the gum. "You didn't clean this off?"

"I wasn't the one who put it there."

She rolled her eyes as he moved out of the way for her to come inside and grab a tissue from the table next to the bed. Red closed the door behind her, turning around and leaning against it with a frown.

"Why do you have tissues by your bed, Red?" Blue asked cheekily as she tossed hers into the trash bin. She stopped her teasing when she saw Red wasn't having it and with a sigh, she sat on his bed, legs crossed as she rested her chin on her fist. "So…enjoying the mountain air?"

"If you're just here to be annoying…"

"No, I'm not," she said with another sigh. "Look, I'm just worried about you, Red."

The dark-haired boy looked up and saw that Blue was being serious, and by the way her ankle was shaking she was nervous too.

"Worried?"

"Yeah, I mean...you haven't been yourself," she said, her eyes looking away. "I know things are complicated."

"Complicated?" he scoffed and she looked to see he was smiling venomously. "Complicated? Okay, let me break this down for you, Blue because I don't think you really get what I'm going through right now, so here's the low down."

He pushed off the door, slowly making his way to her, making the motion of counting on his fingers.

"First off, my mother has been kidnapped by an insane crime syndicate and who knows if she's even alive or dead at this point. Second, the father who abandoned my family to go play cowboys and indians in the mountains suddenly appears, and thirdly my best friend absolutely hates my guts."

By the time he got to number three, he was leaning against the side of the bed, his arms on either side of Blue who looked directly into his eyes and the fury they held. Calmly, she raised up her hand, holding up four fingers.

"You forgot that you have the power to harness electricity," she said, her expressionless face catching Red off-guard. "So, there's that."

They stood still in thick silence that was only broken when Pichu's snores were heard from across the room. The tiny electric-type was curled in a ball in Red's hat, completely unaware of the tension going on in the outside world.

"What are you here to do, Blue?" he said finally, his patience growing thin. "To get me go outside and play nice with the father who left me or to go say sorry to Green for getting upset that he knew where he was this entire time and _lied to me_."

"None of that," she said, her eyes icy. "I want you to stop acting like a crazy psychopath and realize that you're not angry."

"But I am angry!" he said, his voice rising as his grip on the bed strengthened.

"No, you're scared."

Red felt his heart skip as he stared at Blue who piercing glare never left. He felt himself trembling and had to look away from her as she continued.

"I know you, Red, you're terrified," she said, her voice soft. "Everything is up in the air and you don't know where the ground is anymore, I get it. It's okay to be scared and to think that you can't handle it, but you need to see that it's not just you in this - we're all up in the air with you. You just need to let us in and believe that we can help you."

Red felt his heart squeeze in his chest, his breath caught in his throat. He wasn't going to cry, but he felt like everything he had been holding onto the last few days was going to burst out of him. Any doubt about his feelings for Blue were gone, he knew what he felt.

"C'mere," she said, sitting up and taking his hand from the sides of the bed. "C'mon, now."

Pulling her knees from under him, Blue climbed back on the bed and lead him in. Red couldn't even process the motions until they were situated on the bed together, her hands in his. If he was in a better state of mind, he would've felt awkward being so close to the girl he just realized his feelings for, but tonight none of that mattered. It was comforting and Red allowed himself to fall into it. He felt her fingers interlock within his as she spoke to him in a low, calm voice that made him feel whole again. Eventually, he drifted into an uneasy sleep to the sound of her voice and the smell of her hair.

* * *

"Blue! Wake up!" Yellow's voice rang as she pulled the brunette up into a sitting position. With groggy eyes, Blue looked at Yellow, wondering why the hell she was being awaken from such a comfortable sleep.

"Wha..." she managed before she was being tugged by the arm and down the stairs. Luckily, she had fallen asleep in her jeans and sweater the night before and it only took her a moment to slip into her sneakers. "Why are we going outside?"

"It's the guys," she said as she pulled the other girl outside the cabin where Blaine was already waiting, looking amused. Stopping next to the old man, the blonde pointed ahead. "They are talking!"

Blue blinked as the cold wind of Mt. Silver blew through her hair and froze her face. Pulling her hood over her hair, she squinted as she saw the boys standing in front of each other in the snow. Green's spiky hair was blowing with the wintery wind, his face covered by the collar of his over-sized parka while Red stood across from him, hair still covered by that raggedy, old hat as he stuck his hands in pockets of his down jacket.

"Why are they just standing there?" she asked, turning to Blaine. "Couldn't they do this inside?"

"It's a man thing," Blaine said, crossing his arms. "They fight in the snow, they make up in the snow."

"Well, this is stupid," Blue said, making a motion to go back inside. "Call me if they kill each other."

"Wait," Yellow called and Blue felt the shorter girl hold take hold of her sleeve. Looking down, their blue eyes met. "But, what about Operation Blue and Yellow? Do you not want to see if we succeeded?"

"Um, sure." Blue said as she felt her face blush, and her ears grew hot. Holy crap did Green have his work cut out for him - Yellow was cute as hell!

"Look," called Blaine and both girls turned to see the boys still standing in snow. "They're talking!"

Talking was an understatement. After a tense few moments, eventually both boys broke and ran to the other, eloping each other in the fiercest of bro-hugs. On the sidelines, Blaine and Yellow looked disappointed while Blue slapped her forehead with her hand. Blaine turned to Blue, his eyebrow raising from behind his glasses.

"So...is this typical of them?"

"Yes," she sighed, feeling herself overcome with a sense of exhaustion over the stupidity of her two friends. "They're idiots."

"Oh," Yellow said, placing her hand on her chin. "I wasn't aware that Oak and Ketchum had such a homosexual relationship."

Blue's face paled as she turned to the blonde, hysterically.

"What ?! No, no it's not like that! They're just-" Blue stopped when she suddenly felt something vibrate in her pocket. Reaching in, she pulled out her Pokégear, which hadn't held a signal since they landed on the mountain. Holding the phone in the air, she wandered around the perimeter of the cabin trying to get a stronger signal. Yellow and Blaine, however, continued to watch the two boys from the sidelines.

"Dude, I'm so sorry!" Red cried, burying his head in Green's shoulder as the other boy did the same. "I was such an asshole!"

"No, dude it was my fault!" Green sniffed, his words muffled by Red's jacket. "I totally should've told you about your dad, but I just didn't know how and then everything got so crazy. _I'm_ so sorry!"

"It's okay," Red said, pulling back and wiping his face with his sleeve. "Is your shoulder good?"

"Don't worry about it," Green smiled, his nose red from the cold. He slapped Red on the shoulder before adding in a low voice. "And don't worry about the Blue thing, either - she's yours, man. And I'm always here for you, no matter what."

From the sidelines, the three watched as the two boys went into another embrace. From around the side of the house, Blue stuck her head out, strands out her hair falling from her hood.

"Hey!" she called, gaining everyone's attention. "If you two losers are done making out with each other, there's something you'll probably want to see here."

After everyone ran over to Blue, the teenage girl flipped her Pokégear open, showing the latest news update from the Live Caster.

_Rocket Enterprise to Celebrate Re-Opening of Celadon Game Corner with Gym Leader Erika During Annual Rainbow Festival_


	18. Green's Plan

Sitting at the kitchen table surrounded by everyone, Green pointed to a map of Celadon City with a marker.

"So, from what you guys are saying," he said, circling two building on the map. "Rocket Enterprise is a guise for Team Rocket and their two buildings are really their headquarters?"

"That's right," Blaine said, standing above Green with his arms crossed. "We've had a feeling that they were keeping the Gym Leaders under there, but since it's been under construction it's been difficult to find a way to infiltrate it. We're also working with the lowest number of members we've ever had."

"How many people are part of the Underground?" Blue asked from her seat next to Green looking up at Ash, who was leaning against the kitchen counter. The man smiled sadly, as Pikachu looked over at its trainer with a pout.

"You're looking at 'em," he said with a shrug. "At least what's left of it, anyway."

"The Underground mostly consisted of Gyms Leaders across regions," Blaine explained. "We have connections to some trainers as well, but over the years the escalated violence and merger of crime syndicates have made things more difficult. Ketchum and Oak started the team as a means to combat the ongoing crimes against Pokémon, but once the Conduits appeared things got messy."

"But wouldn't something like that be under the the jurisdiction of the Pokémon League?" Blue asked, looking at the map. "I mean, isn't that what the Champion and Elite Four are supposed to do? Keep peace between trainers?"

"Yeah, they're _supposed_ to do that when the League isn't totally corrupted," Blain scoffed. "That's why we had to start this thing, Lance and his so-called 'Elite Four' were so deep in the Rocket's pockets that when they started that 'Rocket Enterprise' crap he went on a media blitz on their reformation."

"Is that why nobody is noticing the Gym Leaders are missing?" Green asked, twirling the marker between his fingers.

"Well, Gym Leaders are known for being pretty mobile," Ash explained. "But when Officer Jenny starts knocking on doors and questioning where everyone is, I'm sure Lance will come up with a media-friendly spin on the entire situation."

"So...what do we do?" Red asked, finally speaking from his seat across Green. "We free everyone and then what? Go back on our journey to battle them for some badges?"

"Maybe we shouldn't think that far ahead," Green said, earnestly. "Obviously Cassidy and Butch are keeping everyone in the Interment Building as a means to lure out what's left of the Underground. The fact that they sent out that Live Caster about meeting with Erika was basically an invitation for us bust in."

"Especially since she's the only Kanto Leader who was never a big fan of ours," Blaine said, turning to Yellow who was sitting across from Blue. "She liked you, though."

"Yes, but she wanted to join her Female Only Gym," Yellow said, wrinkling her nose in disgust. "And wear a dress everyday."

"Do you think they have a plan to kidnap her too?" Blue asked Ash, bringing the conversation back on topic.

"Definitely," the man nodded, before turning to Green. "That Game Corner used to have a hideout under it and I'm sure that's what they're using to hold everyone."

"Yeah," Green said. "They're expecting us to go in there guns blazing, but I think the best way to do this is to try to be sneakier than Team Rocket."

Everyone leaned in closer to the map as Green uncapped the marker, drawing lines and circles on the map as he spoke.

"Since the Rainbow Festival is the biggest event in Celadon, there are going to be a ton of people at the Game Corner," he explained. "That means using the benefit of the crowd, we can have Alpha Group, Red and Blue, sneak in as guests and steal grunts Card Keys. Using Jigglypuff or Oddish's sleep powder, we can knock out the entire party including the Rockets working it. We then have Beta Group, Green and myself, extract Erika and we all use the secret back lever to get down to the Internment Building. During this, Omega Group, Ash and Blaine, will be in the Rocket Enterprise Building distracting Cassidy and Butch until we all free the Gym Leaders and make a break for it."

Everyone stood in silence as Green leaned back in his chair, the bottom part of his hand stained with ink from the marker.

"Wait a second!" Blue finally interjected, pointing to the box that read Game Corner on the map. "Why do Red and I have to be the bait?"

"Um, well because you guys have certain, um, _attributes_ that Yellow and I don't have," Green stammered.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"He means your breasts are bigger than mine," Yellow explained cooly, pointing at the brunette's chest as Green's face flared in embarrassment. "And Ketchum is good looking enough that people find his dimwittedness and lack of class charming."

"Hey," Blue said, turning to Red with tinted cheeks. "Are you just gonna take that?"

"Eh, what can I say?" Red said with a shrug as he leaned back in his chair, arms crossed behind his head. "I was raised by the Sensational Sisters, I know how to charm dumb rich people."

Blue didn't seemed pleased by this answer as she leaned back in her chair, arms crossed over her chest.

Blaine took a look at Ash, raising an eyebrow over his sunglasses, "Well, Boss Man? What do you think?"

"I think," Ash said as a wide grin spread across his face. "I really missed having an Oak on my team. This is a pretty solid plan, Green."

"Oh, wow," Green said, rubbing the back of his neck bashfully. "Thanks, Ash."

"There's also something else we're forgetting on this map," Ash said, taking the marker from Green and drawing a connecting line between the Rocket Enterprise Building and Game Corner Building. "Since the Interment Building is underground, it actually expands to both building's basements. That means when we're done with Cassidy we can bust over and help you guys out."

"Seems good," Green said with a nod. "And that way we'll be dealing with less Rockets on our end, since they'll all be in the other building for you guys."

"Yeah, this is great and all but we're not taking into account one thing," Blue said, motioning a circle with her finger "We're only carrying three Pokémon each and they're all pretty low level. As great as my team is, I don't think Team Rocket is going to have much trouble battling a Riolu and Jigglypuff."

"Heh, no worries, kids," Blaine said, arms crossed as he grinned. "You'll be battling with Blastoise and Venusaur in no time. We're gonna max you guys out with some crash-training taught by one of the best Pokémon trainers in the world."

"Wow, really?" the teenage girl asked. "Who are they?"

"You're sitting across from her," the old man said, thumbing the blonde girl sitting across from Blue.

"Wait..._Yellow?!_" Blue said with a blink before exchanging looks with Green and Red.

"I look forward to teaching you three," Yellow said with a pleasant smile. "And showing you lowly maggots how Pokémon battles are really fought."

The trio's looks quickly turned from disbelief to complete fear. What were they getting themselves into?

* * *

Cassidy entered the Game Corner's main area with a frown. Resting a hand on her hip she inspected the space before her eyes landed on her husband who was currently yelling at a bunch of grunts holding different types of dishes.

"Can you tasteless hacks get anything right?" he yelled, pointing with his one hand at the dishes. "I asked for Goldenrod Gold, not Glistening Gold! Send these back, now!"

The grunts nodded frantically before running away from their leader in a panic. With a sigh, the blue-haired man ran his hand through his hair, "It really is impossible to find good help these days."

Slowly Cassidy made her way to her husband side, her arms crossed over her chest, "Will this thing you insist on throwing be ready in time?"

"Of course," Butch said, letting out a melodramatic sigh as he rested his chin on the top of his wife's head. "Luckily there are two things I was born to do in this world: murder and event planning."

"Comforting," Cassidy said, leaning against her husband's chest as he wrapped his arm around her waist. Her eyes traveled around the room, her eyes dashing between slot machines and card tables. She felt his mouth lower down to her ear, his breath hot against her skin.

"I heard you went to speak with our furry little friend," Butch said, his voice low. "What is that all about?"

"Nothing important," she said, turning away from him. "He didn't give me the answers I was looking for, but at this point I doubt he even has a grip on reality anymore."

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, none of those three were ever the brightest bulbs. Especially Jes-" Butch's sentence was cut short when he received an elbow in the gut from his wife, the breath leaving his body as he doubled over in pain.

"Don't ever say that name again," Cassidy hissed, stepping away from her husband to see that they had a visitor in the lobby. Her heels clicked along the floor quickly as she entered the room to see the flowing green hair of Ghetsis, his thin figure draped in a black cloak. Seeing her near him he smiled. "Oh! Lord Ghetsis! What a surprise it is to see you!"

"Yes, yes my dear," the old man said with a smile that reached up to the decorated patch on his eye. "I was in the area and decided to see how my investment in Rocket Enterprise is manifesting itself. Happy to see that the Game Corner will be re-opened."

"We're very excited ourselves," Cassidy said in a tone she hoped was hiding her intense discomfort.

"I hope this week's events go well," Ghetsis said before his face twisted into shock. "Oh, which reminds me. Cassidy, dear, it seems that nobody from my house was invited to this lovely party you're hosting! Isn't that so odd?"

"Oh yes!" the blonde said, faking laughter. "That is so strange,but perhaps your invites were simply lost in the mail!"

"Hmm, could be," the old man rubbed his chin in thought. "Regardless, I'm sure that won't stop us from enjoying the night's festivities, right? I mean, after all, our partnership is one of the strongest in the region."

"Yes, of course. Don't you worry - you are VIP for sure, Ghetsis!"

"Excellent," the man smiled, before walking passed the woman to the main hall. "Now where is that husband of yours? He is always such a hoot!"

Cassidy felt something drop in the pit of her stomach and immediately felt the longing to go home, climb into bed and sleep through the rest of the week.

* * *

Blaine wasn't exaggerating when he called Yellow one of the best Pokémon trainers ever. Within a day of training, Red's Oddish had evolved into a Gloom, making its sleep and poison powders even more powerful. Wartortle evolved into Blastoise as well, and though Red worried about not being able to control the giant turtle Pokémon, he was relieved when the water-type greeted him with a bro-fist. It was nice that his starter still held its fun-loving persona through all its evolutions.

For the other members of his team, Green's starter reached its final evolution quickly as well. With him already having a Golbat, that only left Green needing to focus on Pidgey, who flew through its levels and evolved into Pidgeotto. However, it didn't seem like it would be able to reach its ultimate goal of Pidgeot in time.

That wasn't the only problem facing the team. Though Riolu's intense bond with Blue allowed for it to grow into Lucario, without a Moonstone, Jigglypuff was simply becoming strong for a Jigglypuff, as opposed to Wigglytuff. This didn't seem to bother the teenage girl, who was too busy dealing with what may be their biggest handicap yet - Charmeleon's inability to evolve into Charizard.

"This isn't good," Green said to Red as they watched Yellow and Blue intensely battle in hopes of raising the fire-type's experience. "Having a Charizard on our side would really give us a huge advantage."

"Yeah, but we can't force it," Red said, crossing his arms over his jacket. "Pokémon aren't supposed to be used for stuff like this and if Charmeleon isn't ready to become Charizard, he shouldn't be forced to."

Green couldn't dispute that fact, but as he turned back to the two girls he couldn't help but worry. From under his hat, Pichu poked its head out and climbed down to Red's shoulder to enjoy the action. Green raised his eyebrow at the electric-type.

"You're seriously not going to try to evolve him to Pikachu?"

"Nope," Red said simply. "He doesn't want to."

"So you aren't training him at all?"

"Oh, we're training," Red said, flashing his friend a smile.

Their conversation was interrupted when Yellow's Golem sent Charmeleon flying across the snow, landing in a bank, its fiery tail in the air. Pulling its head out, the fire-type sat in the snow and punched the ground.

"CHAR!" it called in anger as it punched the ground again, tears building in its eyes. "CHAR! CHAR!"

"Hey!" Blue called, as she ran to her starter's side, wrapping her arms over its shoulders in an embrace. "Hey, it's alright, Charmeleon. You're doing, great!"

Yellow sent the boys a look that read, _"If she says so." _If Blue noticed, she didn't show it.

"C'mon," the brunette said, pulling Charmeleon to face her. "Let's take a break, ok? We'll feel better after dinner."

There was a sudden gust of wind and the four teens looked up to see Ash landing in the snow on his Charizard. Hopping off he greeted them, as Charizard leered down at Charmeleon. The smaller fire-type's eyes widened as he took a step back towards its trainer. Blowing duel smoke-rings from its nose, Charizard looked away with a grunt.

"Hey, behave!" Ash said, flicking the Pokémon before kneeling down to Charmeleon and scratching him behind the ear. "Don't worry about him, Charizard can take a while to warm up to others."

The man then turned to make his way into the cabin as Charizard flew off, presumably to nap within the warm confines of a nearby cave. Blue looked down to see Charmeleon staring intensely at the sky, as if trying to map a path to where the fire dragon had flown.

Ash passed the two teenage boys on his way inside, and waved politely. Green returned the greeting and noticed that to his side, Red was checking his Pokégear, even though it had no service and was basically a blank screen. When Ash had entered the cabin, Green not-so-subtly nudged his friend who didn't seem to care. Red was being sociable and a good team player, but that didn't mean he and his father were suddenly going to be best buddies.

* * *

That night Red couldn't sleep.

On the opposite side of his bed, Blue laid in a peaceful slumber. Since their heart-to-heart, she had been sharing his bed, and though she claimed it was because there were no other beds in the cabin, he knew Tauros shit when he smelled it. He knew their relationship was changing, but Red wasn't going to question it, especially when he enjoyed the way she would sometimes curl into him in the middle of the night. However, sharing a bed also meant that Red had to be extra careful when he got up because if there was one thing Blue hated more than anything, it was being woken up. Not wanting to deal with that, Red moved as if he was walking underwater, slowly and carefully.

He shut the door behind him quietly as he made his way down the stairs and towards the tiny kitchen. Pulling a juice box from the refrigerator, when he turned around after sitting at the table he saw his father standing at the stairs. Both Ketchums stared at each other, looking awkward and uncomfortable. With a nervous laugh, Ash was the one who spoke first.

"Couldn't sleep," he said in a low voice as he made his way to the chair opposite of Red. "Guess that's your reason too?"

Red remained quiet, instead choosing to sip his juice. If he could've, he would've walked back up to his room but his fear of being mauled by Blue outweighed his discomfort. They sat in silence, as Red finally took a good look at his father. As a kid, when looking at old photos Red had wondered if looking at Ash would be like looking at his future-self through a time machine, but he could see now that wasn't the case. Though Red inherited his features from his father, Ash's eyes and hair was much darker than his, who benefited from the splash of light attributes Misty's provided. Wearing a dark tank-top, Red also noted that Ash was broader than him compared to his thin and lanky frame. However, ironically it seemed that he did inherited his father's height, and much like him had been a late bloomer. Red had only hit his current height a year earlier, and his mother had teased that she was taller than Ash until their wedding day.

"Listen, I..." Ash's voice broke he silence before stopping, running a hand through his messy dark-hair. In the night light, Red saw the glimmer of a gold band - much like his mother, his father had kept his wedding ring on. "I know that sorry...you know...doesn't cut it."

Red raised an eyebrow, skeptically. Wow, his mother wasn't kidding when she said his father was a complete idiot. His mouth still on the plastic straw of his juice box, Red wondered what he would've said to that if he wasn't already so emotionally drained by this whole situation. The show in facial animation seemed to be enough of a cue for Ash to continue.

"I'm not usually good at this kind of stuff," he admitted with a sigh. "But I was thinking about what you said during the planning meeting - about what to do next. I just want you to know that I never wanted this life for you, but I appreciate you helping me with this."

Finishing its contents, Red crushed the cardboard box with his fist before setting it on the table forcefully. He turned to his father, eyes livid with anger.

"Let me just get one thing straight with you," he finally said in a low, but stern voice. "I'm not doing this for you, I'm doing this for Mom. The second this is all over, we're over. I didn't need you for the last twelve years, and you'd be damned if I need you now."

Raising from his chair, Red made his way up the stairs, leaving Ash at the table alone with his crushed juice box.


	19. The Volunteer Pokémon House

Under the cover of night, the team made their way through the skies of Kanto. Holding on to Blaine's waist, Red joined the older man on his Talonflame as they and the rest of the party made their way towards a tiny house outside Celadon City to meet with one of the Underground's old connections. With so many Rocket and Plasma grunts littering Kanto, they knew better than to fly directly into the city. Instead they needed to spend the night at a safe house before driving into the city like a "normal" herd of teenagers enjoying the Rainbow Festival.

The day had started early, with everyone figuring out which flying-types they would be riding on. Red was easiest, choosing to partner with Blaine as if he was calling shotgun in a car. Sensing the discomfort, Blue had asked Ash to ride along with him on Charizard, pretending to be interested in the Pokémon. Though nobody really bought it, the effort was appreciated. That left Yellow and Green to figure out their situation, which proved to be more difficult than expected.

"I don't understand why I can't just take Pidgeotto," Green had said to Red in a low voice, his face slightly pink. "Riding along with Yellow on her Noctowl just feels so...weird."

"Why?" Red had whispered as Blue snuck into the huddle, much to his annoyance.

"Listen, you big baby," she hissed, turning to the green-eyed teen. "This is your chance to spend some quality time with Yellow! You do like her, right?"

"Wait, dude, you _like_ Yellow?" Red had blinked, sticking his head up for a second to get a good look at the blonde before being pulled down forcefully by Blue. Green was too red to answer. "Then yeah, you should totally ride with her! C'mon!"

Green's face grew a darker shade of crimson and the two other teens figured they had to put matters in their own hands. Both taking hold of Green's shoulders, they pushed the catatonic teen towards Yellow who was preparing Noctowl for their journey. When the blonde saw the boy, her eyebrow rose.

"It's about time you got here, Oak," she said as she swung herself over the back of the large bird Pokémon. "I can't possibly protect you if you're off flying on your own, so please climb on."

"Oh, right," Blue said as she turned to Red with a smirk, pushing the taller teen towards the bird. "Your assignment to keep our little Green safe and sound."

"How convenient," Red had nodded, exchanging his own smarmy look with the brunette.

"I hate you guys," Green mumbled under his breath as he climbed on Noctowl behind Yellow.

"Hold on!" the blonde had called as Noctowl took off into the sky, Green taking hold to the tiny blonde awkwardly as they flew.

Still in the snow, Blue and Red had exchanged high-fives, proud of their work.

Now that the fleets were flying closer, Red was able to appreciate the view of not only his best friend attempting to act cool in front of the girl he liked (which was hilarious) but also the view of Kanto from above. The lights from the cities looked like tiny fireflies with the peaceful quiet of the night sky bringing along a strange serenity. The feeling reminded Red of swimming in the Cerulean Gym's main pool when he was the kid and how big it felt until his mother would pull him out.

At the memory of his mother, Red felt as if his heart was being wrapped in a barbed wire, stabbing him with each beat.

"It really is something, isn't it kid?" Blaine said, turning around to face Red who could only nod. "It's the best way for trainers to travel around - when you're not a wanted criminal, that is."

There was a whistle from Ash, gaining the attention of Blaine and Yellow. Making a downward motion with his hands, Ash's Charizard sped ahead of the group, making its way down to land. Yellow followed shortly after on Noctowl.

"Here's our stop, kid," Blaine said as Talonflame dipped from the sky. "Hold on!"

The three Pokémon swooped elegantly to the ground, landing in front of a small house along the route. From inside came an old, kind looking man with a cane. Instantly, Ash was off Charizard to greet the tiny elder.

"Mr. Fuji, you didn't have to come out here to greet us," he insisted as the old man gave him a long hug. "It's cold out here!"

"Nonsense, my boy," Fuji said with a laugh. "What kind of host would I be if I didn't come out to greet my guests?"

"Nice to see you're doing well, Fuji," Blaine said as he gave his own hug to the man.

"Same to you, Blaine," the older man said with a nod. "Still wearing those sunglasses at night I see?"

"I'm nothing if not consistent," the man joked, causing both to laugh.

"Mr. Fuji, you remember Yellow and Green, right?" Ash said motioning to the teens standing on the side. At hearing of their names, the teens made their way over to the older man.

"It is wonderful to see you well, Master Fuji," Yellow said with a bow, to which the man laughed.

"Oh my dear, how many times must I tell you that you needn't do such formalities for me?" Fuji laughed as he embraced the young girl warmly before turning to Green for a firm handshake. "Green, goodness looking at you it's no doubt you are an Oak! How is Samuel doing?"

"He's doing well in Goldenrod," Green said with a smile. "He still does his daily radio show, but he lives with my Aunt Daisy now."

"Good to hear," the old man said before turning to Red and Blue.

"And this is my son Red, and his friend Blue from Cerulean," Ash said, concluding the introductions. Red felt the barbed wire around his heart tighten when the word "son" left Ash's lips, but he put on a happy face for Mr. Fuji, who seemed to be a nice enough old man.

"It's very nice to meet you," Blue said with a smile as Red nodded, tipping his hat to the man before extending his hand for handshake. To his surprise, the old man took hold and pulled him close, inspecting him.

"Ah, I see," Fuji said when he was done. "You've inherited your father's passion, but your mother's thin frame. Looks like we're going to have to fatten you up, young man!"

Red laughed awkwardly - it wasn't the first time in his life that he was old he was too thin. His grandmother and aunts have always been on his case about his weight, though he always chalked it up to women always being obsessive with things like that. Soon, Fuji went over to Ash to talk privately and Red heard Blaine call him over.

"Hey kid," he said, his hands on his hips as he recalled Talonflame into its Poké Ball. "I got one more riddle for you before we're off. You ready?"

"Sure," Red said with a shrug and the man grinned from behind his sunglasses.

"Alright," he said before extending his index finger into the air. "For me, the thought is most important as I'm just as good given as I am received - what am I?"

The teenage boy took a moment to think, rubbing his chin as he mulled the riddle in hid mind.

"Oh, I know!" Red said, snapping his fingers quickly. "A present!"

"Bingo!" the old man said with a laugh. "Good to see you got your mother's wits about you, kid! She's always been a star when it comes to my radical riddles!"

Red again felt himself laughing awkwardly, not having the heart to tell Blaine that "radical" would not be the word he would use to describe such an annoying attribute of his personality.

"A present it is, and it's a present for you," Blaine said, as he handed Talonflame's Poké Ball to the teen. "Take good care of him, he's a good bird."

"Wow," Red said, looking down at the ball before looking back up at Blaine. "Are you sure? Thank you so much!"

"Of course, kid," Blaine said as he flicked the lip of Red's hat teasingly. "You need yourself a good fire-type and flying-type on your team, so here's a simple answer to that riddle!"

There was a whistle from Ash and the older man made his way to Charizard.

"Alright, we'll see you guys tomorrow night," Ash said as he made eye contact with Red, who quickly averted his gaze. Climbing onto Charizard he tipped his hat to the teens. "Good luck."

"And don't do anything I would do!" Blaine laughed as he hopped behind Ash, who rolled his eyes good-naturedly. Within a moment, the fire dragon was up and into the air, lost within the night sky of Kanto. Red felt a sense of nostalgia wash over him at the scene, but attempted to shrug it off.

"It's okay to feel a little anxious you know," Green said with a soft smile as he came up from behind his friend. "He is your dad, after all."

Red didn't reply, knowing better than to open that can of worms with Green and instead chose to turn around to enter the tiny house.

"I had to move the Volunteer Pokémon House from Lavender Town after the Rockets tore down the Pokémon Tower to build that wretched Radio Tower. Though it is a bit strange to have the Lavender Volunteer Pokémon House on Route 16," Fuji said as he opened the door. "It's not much, but it's home."

The house was small and cozy, and in the back was a tiny play area filled with tiny Growlithe, Mareep, Skitty and Whimsicott pups running around, awaken by the noise. Seeing the cute and fluffy Pokémon, Blue could barely hide the grin from her face and Red wondered if she was about to suffer from a cuteness overload.

"Ah! Mr. Fuji," she said, turning to the old man with such excitement the old man seemed startled. "D-do you think, I could...um..."

"Oh!" Fuji laughed as he motioned to the area. "Go right ahead, my dear! They love to be played with!"

"Yay!" Blue cheered as she linked her arm with Yellow. "C'mon, Yellow!"

"Ah, wait hold on!" the blonde gasped as the taller girl pulled her into the pen, holding onto her straw hat to keep it from flying off her head. From under Red's hat, Pichu poked out to jump towards the girls, riding along Yellow's shoulder to join in on the fun. The old man smiled at the exchange.

"These Pokémon have been abandoned or mistreated by trainers," he explained as the three men watched Blue and Yellow play with the tiny pups. "However, Pokémon and humans are meant to interact with each other, and sometimes something as simple as showing love and compassion even though you've been hurt is enough to undo the worse wrong."

"You don't say?" Green said, sending a look to Red who pretended to ignore it.

"On that same note, it makes me so happy that Yellow has found such kind friends," the old man said with a smile that reached up to his eyes. "I don't think I've ever seen her so happy."

"Oh, um...it's nothing," Green said with a blush and Red took the hint to pick up the conversation for his friend.

"Isn't she a little young to be fighting domestic Pokémon terrorists?" he said, sticking his hands in his jacket pockets as he watched Yellow play with Pichu. "What's her origin story?"

"Well, Yellow is an interesting one," Fuji said, leaning on his cane. "She was orphaned as a young girl and would often run into trouble - nothing bad mostly just mischievous behavior with her Doduo. Eventually, Officer Jenny grew annoyed at her antics and brought her into the station to set her with a local orphanage. At the time, I was in the station to sign papers regarding a new Pokémon I had taken in and saw the young girl. Needless to say, I came home that day with a finished paper work and Yellow."

"So, that makes you her guardian?" Red said, almost astonished.

"Technically, yes, but we never had a relationship like that," the old man continued, looking at the pen. "Much like the Pokémon I take in, I foster a loving environment for them to grow until they are strong enough to start their own journey. I did the same for Yellow, but often I wonder if it was a enough. She has always been such a blunt and direct girl, and I worried about her making friends. Even when she was older and traveled to Hoenn to study at Leader Roxanne's academy in Rustboro City I urged her to try to connect with people."

"Wow, she studied with Brock's wife?" Red said with a long whistle, impressed. Though only friends through his mother, Red knew Roxanne was no push over and her Trainer School was a breeding ground for elite trainers. No wonder she was so strong.

"Oh, that reminds me!" Fuji said snapping his fingers as he motioned for the boys to follow him into his study. "Come with me lads, there's something I wanted to show you."

The two teens followed Fuji into his study, standing in the middle of the room on an area rug as the man rummaged through his desk to pull out a framed picture. Resting his cane against this desk, his took the picture in his hands and blew dust on it forcefully before taking his cane and making his way to the boys.

"One of the girls who volunteers here found this while cleaning," he explained as he handed the picture to Green who held it out for Red to see. The picture was a crowd shot, taken in front of what looked like an older version Oak Laboratory in Pallet Town. "It's one of the only photos left from the early days of the Underground. From left to right we have Brock and his brother Forrest - goodness, Forrest must've been around your age at this time. Then you have Whitney, she's the Gym Leader of Goldenrod, and Sabrina, you know her from Saffron, I'm sure. Next to them is Blaine when he used to wear that terrible wig, and in front of him you have May and Max Maple-"

"Who?" Green interrupted, not recognizing the duo and Fuji smiled sadly.

"The children of Norman, the Petalburg City Gym Leader," he explained. "They were both killed shortly after this photo was taken. They were good friends of your father, Red."

Red remained quiet, not that he would exactly know much about his father's life.

"Ah, where was I? Oh yes, next we have a much younger and better looking Mr. Fuji and Sam Oak, with the always lovely Delia Ketchum. Next to her is-" Fuji stopped when he noticed the boys' faces. Red felt his jaw clench as he looked at the smiling picture of his parents, over a decade younger, with Misty holding a sleepy baby with unruly dark hair as Ash wrapped one arm around his wife and another around Gary, who held his arm around a very pregnant looking Jasmine.

"Geez, even Grandma was in on this," Red attempted to joke, but the emotion in his voice weighed it down.

"I always found it funny that you two boys were born so close to each other," Mr. Fuji smiled sadly. "Leave it to your fathers to compete over whose child was older."

"They're so young," Green managed, his voice breaking slightly.

"And happy," Red added, his voice equally strained.

The old man sighed as he nodded sadly, staring at the photo and remembering better times.

Later, the teens sat with the old man as they ate a small dinner, listening to stories from the early days of the Underground as well as some stories from Yellow's childhood.

"Oh, there was also that time when Yellow was a little girl and wanted to go swimming in the water along Route 12," Fuji smiled as the blonde girl tried to hide her face in her hat.

"Master Fuji, noooo!" she begged as she leaned into Blue's arm who was enjoying the spectacle.

"What happened?" Green asked, enjoying the tales more than anyone.

"Well, she had seen the local boys take off their shirts to jump into the water in their shorts," the old man grinned. "So she figured going topless was fine, even for a young lady."

"Gahhh!" Yellow groaned as the three teens bursted into laughter.

"Wow, Yellow," Red teased from his seat. "I didn't take you for the exhibitionist type!"

"Quiet, Ketchum!" she groaned, her red face still buried in Blue's arm as if it could hide her from the embarrassment. "Just wait until we rescue Leader Misty, I am going to make you rue the day you were even born!"

"Now, now, Yellow," Fuji said as he softly patted the blonde on the top of her hands. "It's not a big deal, the boys didn't even realize you were a girl - they thought you were just one of the guys!"

With another anguished groan, Yellow pulled her hat over her eyes as her friends doubled over in laughter.

"Well, it's getting late," Fuji said, looking at the clock on the wall. "You kids should get to bed, you'll need to be up bright and early tomorrow to get to Celadon."

The teens nodded, thanking the old man for his kindness as they made their way upstairs. Out of habit, Blue made a motion to follow Red into his room, but was stopped by the old man grabbing her by the elbow.

"Nah uh," he said with an impish smile, wagging his index finger. "Young men and women sleep in separate rooms! I may be an old man, but I still know what goes on behind closed doors when young people are left to their own devices."

Red and Blue felt the heat rise in their face, both turning to their respective rooms with a nod and nothing more. Lazily, Green and Yellow followed, pausing to exchange goodnights.

"By the way, those stories weren't _that_ embarrassing," Green smiled at the blonde. "Believe me, my dad has an entire arsenal of mortifying stories from when I was a kid. Like when I was eleven I had a wear a headgear for a few months and he made sure to take as many pictures as possible."

"Really?" Yellow said with a small smile as she turned around to the room she was sharing with Blue. "Now I'm going to have to see them so we're even! Night, Oak."

"Night, Yellow," Green said with a grin that he was sure was goofy. When he turned to enter his own room he saw Red making a smooched face at him, mimicking loud kissing noises teasingly. The spiky-haired teen replied with a swift kick to the head.


	20. Celadon City

Red yawned and stretched as he walked out of the house early the next morning. Leaning against the front of the house, he waited for the others to make their way downstairs. Usually being the one of the group who enjoyed sleep the most, Red took a little pride in being ready before everyone else. Under his hat, he felt the tiny breaths of Pichu, its snores ruffling his hair slightly.

"Good morning, Red," Fuji said, the sound of his cane hitting the ground grabbing Red's attention beforehand. "Enjoying the view?"

"A little," the young man said, sending a polite smile the old man's way. "Thank you again for letting us stay here and getting a car ready for us."

"Oh, my boy, it's nothing," the old man laughed, leaning over his cane. "I owe so much more to your father than a spare room and a broken-down, old car."

Red felt himself stiffen looking away from Fuji, he attempted to cover his discomfort with nervous laughter like usual.

"Ah, so I was correct," Fuji said with a knowing smile, cutting through Red's facade like butter.

"What do you mean?"

"You and your father," the old man said, raising his hand to make the motion of his index and middle finger separating. "Are not exactly simpático, yes?"

Red remained silent, the wire around his heart binding ever tighter.

"Do you mind if I ask you a question?"

"Uh...sure, go for it." Red answered, hoping his voice wasn't too abrasive.

"How do you feel about your father?"

The young man froze, his attention switching towards the older man so quickly that his hat almost flew off his head. Red swallowed hard, as the question was a loaded one but also something nobody had ever asked him before. Everyone always assumed his feelings, which he knew was his own fault for never properly expressing them. But now that he was actually directly asked, he couldn't even formulate it.

"I don't really know," his voice broke, as he stuck his hands in his pocket. "The easy answer would be that I'm still hurt that he left Mom and me, but that's not just it. I'm also angry as hell that he didn't, I dunno...seem to care. That it was just so easy for him to up and go and never come back."

"Was it?"

Red blinked and the old man smiled sadly.

"It's understandable," Fuji continued, looking away from Red and up towards the morning sky breaking through. "It's impossible for people to ever really know what others are truly feeling. The relationship between parents and children is that constant struggle - we're raised by these people and they've been part of our lives since the beginning, but we've only come into theirs a third of the way through. Our parents had lives before us, but then we're born and we're the center of their world, but that world before our birth is still there, and sometimes things happen."

"So, you're saying I should forgive my father for not giving a crap about me because he's out there saving the world?" Red said, brows furrowed.

"Oh no, child, quite the opposite" Fuji laughed, turning back to the boy. "You and your mother are the most important people to your father, so doesn't that make you wonder what it took for him to be preyed away from a family he loved so dearly?"

"Master Fuji!" Yellow called from inside the house and the old man winked at Red before turning into the house.

Red sighed, sliding down the side of the house to sit on the grass. A few moments later, Blue bursted out, her jeans and sweater replaced with a sundress and sandals. Her long hair swung in a braid that reached the bottom of her back.

"You look nice," he said and she turned around on her heel to face him. "I mean, considering we're about to crash a gala and jail break most of Kanto's Gym Leaders."

"Wow, you know just how to compliment a lady," she smiled, walking over and a taking a seat near the boy, her arms wrapped under her knees to keep her bottom unexposed. "Yellow and Green are trying to find the keys for the car, so we're obviously super prepared for this whole espionage thing."

"Seems so," he said, enjoying how warm her arm felt against his in the cool morning. "How was last night?"

"It was okay, Yellow didn't say much about Green so that was a bummer, but she isn't really the gossip type. I think she likes him though, y'know in her own way."

Red nodded. That wasn't really what he meant when he asked about the night before, but again that was his own fault. He was bad at being direct and asking Blue if she missed sharing a bed with him was way above his level.

"Is something wrong?" he heard her asked and he was ripped from his thoughts.

"Uh, nothing more than usual," he said, attempting to joke. Lucky for him, Green and Yellow came out of the house, with Mr. Fuji on their tales. Green was wearing a beanie and hoodie, which Red knew was to hide his spiky chestnut hair during their travel but still looked way too hot for a summer day. Behind him Yellow's blonde hair was tied in a messy bun, lifted above her tank-top, shorts and sandals - a surprisingly feminine look for the usually androgynous girl.

"I dressed her today," Blue whispered and instantly the world made sense again. At least the outfit wasn't frilly and pink.

"I told you the keys were between the sofa cushions, Oak," Yellow said with her usual even tone as she threw an oversize bag into the trunk. "It would be wise to listen to me next time."

"Thank you so much for your hospitality, Mr. Fuji," Green said, ignoring the blonde with great exasperation and turning to the old man. "We really appreciate it."

"Of course, Green," Fuji said as the teenager leaned down to hug the man. "I'm just happy I could help."

Seeing that they were setting off, Red and Blue rose from their seats to embrace the kind old man. Yellow was the last, who ran to Fuji, bowing deeply before the old man smothered the girl into as much of a bear hug as he could manage.

"Alright, let's hit the road!" Red cheered with newfound energy, punching his palm before making the motion to take the keys from Green, who swiftly grabbed the dark-boy's hand and squeezed hard. "OW!"

"Don't be ridiculous, I'm driving," Green said as he unlocked the driver's side of the tiny white car. "You can ride shotgun, though."

Red pouted as he tried to open the door, only to see that Green had "forgotten" to unlock it. After a few attempts, he finally got it opened and sat with his arms crossed, obviously annoyed.

"Aww, widdle Reddy didn't like my joke," Green cooed, reaching over to pinch the dark-haired boys cheek, teasingly. "That's for yesterday, asshat."

"Blue did it, too," Red pouted, kicking his feet up on the dashboard as the girls climbed inside the car, seemingly unaware of the two boys squabbling.

"All set?" Green said, looking at the rearview mirror to make sure Blue and Yellow were in alright. When Blue gave the thumbs up, he turned on the ignition and the car made a noise that didn't sound anything like a car starting followed by silence. The four teens exchanged looks before looking at Mr. Fuji who simply shrugged from his place in front of the house. Turning back to the car, Green tried again, and after a few long seconds the engine finally rolled. Everyone let out a sigh of relief as Green pulled away from the house and onto Route 16.

"Hope that is not a sign," Yellow said quietly, though everyone heard it and pretended to ignore it.

* * *

It seemed that Yellow wasn't wrong in her assumption that Murphy's Law was in effect during the early stages of their plan. It only took a few hours for them to reach the checkpoint into Celadon City, but nearing the booth Red noticed Green's brows were knitted together.

"What's up?" Red said, sitting up to look out the window to see grey cars parked along the shoulder of the route. "Wait, those aren't normal Police cars."

"No, they're not," Green said, turning back to the road and looking up at Yellow through the rearview mirror. "Are those Plasma guys?"

Yellow nodded slowly as Green cursed under his breath. Red exchanged a look with Blue before turning back to the boy, "Uh, what does that mean?"

"It means they're probably running this checkpoint for the Rockets," Yellow explained as Green stared at the road ahead of him, pulling the car into the long line before the checkpoint booth. "Oak, give me your Pokédex."

"What?" he asked, raising an eyebrow in the rearview mirror as the car ahead of him moved up. "Why?"

"Because when they check that and see that you're Green Oak this grand scheme of yours will end right here," she frown, hand outstretched. "You two, too. Give them to me."

Raising his butt from his seat, Green reached into his back pocket and pulled out the small red device. He handed it to the blonde over his shoulder as Red and Blue did the same. Another car pulled ahead, "Hurry up, we're getting closer."

With a nod, Yellow took the three devices and instantly connected them with a tiny wire to a mini-computer. As she rapped on buttons, Blue raised an eyebrow, "Who taught you how to hack a Pokédex?"

"Clemont, the Gym Leader from Lumoise City," the blonde answered as she looked between the screen of her computer and the red devices.

"Lemme guess, another Underground connection?" Red threw over his shoulder.

Yellow nodded as the car jerked forward again, Green's finger began to rap on the steering wheel as they grew ever closer to the booth, "We're four cars away."

The girl ignored him as she continued to tap on her computer, and Red felt something touch the fingers of the hand that was slacking between his seat and the divider. He looked down to see that it was Blue's hand, he squeezed it lightly.

"Three cars," Green said, pushing forward, the key tapping still going.

The silence grew thick, the rumbling of the car's old engine seeming louder than ever. There was another jerk forward.

"Two cars."

The typing stopped and everyone held their breath, only to release it a moment later when Yellow's frantic typing continued.

"One car," Green said, turning around to the girl. "Yellow, come-"

He was silenced when the blonde shoved the Pokédex in his face, her face stoic. "Eyes on the road, _Shigeru_."

Green took the device, looking at it before making a face at the blonde, "Really? Japanese?"

"What kind of name is Satoshi?" Red said, raising an eyebrow at his own Pokédex, which he swiped from the blonde. "Isn't that the name of that green video game dinosaur?"

"Stop it, you two," Blue scolded pointing at the road from the backseat. "We're next, so pull up, Shigeru."

Green turned back to the road and with a deep breath moved up, rolling down his window to see a man with red hair, gray fatigues and black vest with the blue and silver Plasma logo. On his head he wore a black beret.

"Good afternoon," he greeted, friendly enough for a grunt. "You kids here for the Rainbow Festival?"

"You bet," Green said with a smile, knowing better than to test his acting chops again and kept his sentences short and sweet.

"Great, Pokédex please."

Everyone gave their devices to Green who handed them to the man. They all waited patiently as he scanned each one, and Red felt Blue's hand return to his, her fingers trembling between his nervously. Yellow seemed to be the only one with a solid poker face. Soon, the grunt returned with their Pokédex.

"All set," he said with a smile. "You guys came all the way here from New Bark? Hope it's worth the trip!"

Green smiled and nodded as he pulled into Celadon City, feeling as if he just dropped a thousand pound weight from his shoulder. Once he pulled in and was in city limits he glared at the blonde from the rearview mirror.

"Johto?" he scolded. "Was that really necessary?"

"I figured it would behoove us in the future to have the option to cross borders without going through that again," Yellow explained, calmly. "You should at least thank me for saving your butt again, Shigeru."

"Thank you," Green sighed, turning to park the car behind an old warehouse on the east side of the city, close enough to the Game Corner. "And we're not making that a thing, so stop calling me that."

"Sorry, Shigeru-chan," Red said, batting his eyelashes at the boy.

"Shut up, Yoshi," Green said, as he "accidentally" locked the boy's door from his driver side as he exited the car.

* * *

Once everyone was accounted for, Yellow popped the trunk of the car to reveal the oversize bag she packed.

"That looks like that monstrosity Red's Grandmother made us carry from Pallet," Blue said, making a face. "Have we been carrying a body this whole time?"

"No, bodies are lighter," Yellow said as she pulled out the bag. She looked around to see that the three teens were staring at her, blank-faced. "That was a joke."

They laughed nervously as the blonde turned to Green who pulled his map of Celadon City and spread it across the rear of the car.

"So, Red and Blue, you're going to infiltrate the Game Corner Gala," Green explained, pointing to the map. "While Yellow and I stay on the outside until you're able to get Gloom and Jigglypuff to cause a mass evacuation of the building."

"Don't do it right away, though," Yellow interjected. "Your Pokédex will get you in with the fake names I programmed, but you're probably going to be one of the younger ones there. Try to gain some intel before you strike. Wait until we give you the signal to gas and put everyone to sleep that should be the time when you steal grunts card keys, since that's when they'll be deployed."

"We're going to wait for Ash and Blaine to start causing hell in the main building," Green added. "Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, you'll probably want to change clothes of the grunts whose card keys you steal."

"Why?" Red asked, not liking the idea of stripping some random dude and taking his clothes.

"Well, it's going to be pretty hard to run around in a suit and tie," Green shrugged and suddenly something clicked in Red's head.

"Wait...we need to be dressed up for this crap?" he said, his face falling in disdain.

"Um, yeah?" Blue said, sending a look at the dark-haired teen. "Red, it's gala, these things are fancy as hell."

"Yeah but it's in a casino!"

"You dress up for casinos too, dummy," Blue said, slapping her head in anguish as Red groaned in protest.

"We're not changing the plan now just because you don't want to dress like a big boy, Red," Green said, the familiar tone of exhaustion filling his tone. "Anyway, we're going to communicate with each other through a headset that connects to your Pokégear."

"Oh, very espionage-y!" Blue said with childish excitement. "Do we get to use code names, too?"

"Since the channel will only be accessible to the four of us, that isn't necessary," Yellow explained. "However, you need to pay attention to us when we're in your ear since Oak and myself will be the bridge between your team and Leader Ash and Blaine. Once we're all in together, we'll be able to free the prisoners and escape through the Rocket Enterprise main building. "

"So that's basically it," Green said with a shrug. "Go in, look good, wait for our signal, gas everyone, and break into the interment building. Easy peasy."

* * *

Preparation for the party was just as painful as Red knew it would be. Taken to one end of the old warehouse by Green, who held a handful stuff from Yellow's oversized bag of mysteries, the boys bunkered down and quickly Pichu jumped from Red' head, taking his hat with him. The dark-haired boy soon found out the the mysterious stuff was actually a suit, as well as socks, shoes and various other things that men usually wear to not look like slobs at galas. During the prep, at one point Green commented that Red was "lucky" to not have to worry about shaving, since he couldn't grow a beard if he tried. After what seemed like a half-bottle of hair gel, Red's hair was tamed though he thought he was done, but when he went to take his hat from Pichu, Green intercepted.

"No!" the green-eyed boy said, snatching the hat away and hitting Red on the arm with it. "No hats at galas!"

"But what about Pichu," he demanded, pointing at the electric-type that was currently staring at Red's hat, teary-eyed. "That's where he goes!"

"Sorry, but for this he need to be in a ball," Green said, taking the hat and throwing it into the pile of stuff on the ground. Pichu made a squeaky noise in argument before sighing and turning to its trainer, paws in the air dramatically as if ready to be handcuffed.

"You're not going into jail!" Green shot at the tiny yellow mouse, who stuck its tongue out at the boy as the red light of the Poké Ball captured it.

"Electric mice don't like Poké Balls," the dark-haired boy said, sticking the ball onto his belt holster. "That's even true for the Pikachu my Da-" Red stopped instantly, face crimson as he turned to pretend he was adjusting his tie. If circumstances were different, Green would've pried, but right now he had to bigger fish to fry.

"Hey, Oak!" he heard Yellow call. "You guys ready?"

"Yeah," Green replied, gathering the stuff from the floor. "We'll meet you out front."

Moments later, Green and Red sat out front waiting. The dark-haired teen kept checking his watch, they still had time before the party but Blue was taking forever. Eventually Yellow came out, looking like a woman who had been put through the ringer.

"She is 'just finishing up her make-up', allegedly," Yellow said, taking the clothes from Green and throwing them in the bag. "There are some things in this world I will never understand, and eyeliner is one of them."

"That makes three of us," Green joked, taking the bag from Yellow and throwing it in the back of the car before leaning against the door. "Oh, here she comes!"

Sticking his hands in his the pockets of his slacks, Red turned around and instantly stopped as Blue slowly made her way to the group, in a simple black gown that she kept from tripping over by holding onto its hem. Feeling his face warm up to his ears, Red looked away, coveirng his face with his hands. Around him, Green and Yellow ran to girl's side, helping her walk along the gravel in her heels.

"Wow, Blue," Green said, taking the girl by the hand and twirling her. "You look amazing!"

"You think so?" Blue said with a smile, her hair tied in an updo on her head. "I was worried that Daisy's dress would be too big on me."

"It is a little long, but I think it looks suitable," Yellow smiled, and turned to face Red. "Okay Ketchum, let's get go-"

She stopped mid-sentence when she saw the dark-haired boy was already in the car, waiting to go.

"Well, at least he appears more eager now," she said, turning to Green who shrugged before helping Blue to the car.


	21. The Game Corner

"Heads or tails?"

The question floated in air, bouncing off the walls of the cell before landing with a thud in Misty's ears. It had been over a week since she was thrown into being cellmates with Gary Oak, and frankly she was ready to kill him.

"No more," the redhead groaned, burying her face in her knees as if that could hide her from the man currently flipping a coin from his thumb. "No more head or tails."

During the shift change, one of the Rocket grunts had dropped the coin and of course Gary made a big deal of snatching it and making a game out of it because he was Gary Oak, the most obnoxious human being on the planet. It only took a few days for Misty to lose her patience with the man, whose incessant optimism and positivity was enough to make her want to puke - and she had married Ash Ketchum.

"Why are you so peppy, Oak?" came Surge's rough voice from the cell across from them. In the back, his cellmate Janine was currently meditating, which Misty assumed was her means of coping with Gary. "Is it 'cause they haven't beat the snot out of you this week?"

"Nope," the man grinned, flipping the coin high before snatching it mid-air. "Just got a good feeling about tonight."

"Tonight? What's so special about tonight?"

"It's that stupid party all the grunts are excited about," came Janine's voice, taking a moment from spiritual enlightenment to join in on the conversation. "He's hoping something is going to happen tonight."

"Listen, Little Miss Namaste," Gary said, flipping the coin in the air again. "I don't _hope_, I _know_."

Unfortunately, Misty did too and she had just as strong a feeling as Gary that her husband would try something obviously stupid and reckless that night, causing her stomach to tie itself into knots. She was broken by her thoughts as she heard Gary ask the same question he had been asking the last few days.

"Fine, tails!" she shot, at her wits end. Across from her, the man caught the coin mid-air, slapping it on the top of his hand. After a moment of "suspense," he lifted his hand with a smirk.

She had called correctly.

* * *

Red wasn't exaggerating when he said he was raised by the Sensational Sisters. As close as he was with his mother, it was his aunts who taught him how to tap into an inner charisma that he knew he didn't inherit from his father. It began as a game when he was a kid, with him and Blue going up to passersby in Cerulean City and adorably telling them about the upcoming water ballet at the Cerulean Gym. As he got older, the same smile and pandering gained him quite a bit of popularity in school, though he never really acted on it. By the time hit his teen years, his charm was like a switch, instantly masking any of his bad days with what his aunts called "a sensational smile."

Though the entire charade always drove Misty crazy, Red was a little proud of himself as he sweet talked the cute, blonde waitress who apparently also worked for Rocket Enterprise. The irony of the situation was not lost to him. As he slyly pick-pocketed the blonde, taking her card key as if it was from his own pocket, he played along as she tapped his chin and promised to "swing over later." His facade must've been good, as during the entire ordeal Red's attention was mostly fixated on Blue, who was currently leaning against one of the many bars, her chest purposely pressed as the obviously smitten bartender pretended not to notice.

_"Green is a terrible color on you, Red,"_ came Green's voice from his earpiece and instantly Red was brought back to the situation at hand. Grabbing another glass of mysterious brown alcohol from a passing waitress (this one an ebony haired beauty), Red hid his moving mouth behind the glass touching his lips.

"I got a card key," he said, ignoring the previous comment as he knew Blue was just as tuned into the earpiece as the other two were. "None of the grunts are in their suits here, though. I guess they're all out here on catering duty."

_"Don't worry, they will be once the fireworks start,"_ Green's voice came again, and Red could hear the smile in his best friend's voice. "_Ah, it seems Ms. Blue got herself a card too, excellent."_

Red ignored the comment, and as he and Blue briefly made eye-contact he felt his skin began to warm. He knew it wasn't from the watered-down garbage they were serving. Though completely caught by her beauty earlier, as they had entered the gala Red had done what he did best - overcompensated his feelings by acting like a complete idiot.

When asked by Blue what he thought of her long, dark gown, even though Red wanted to tell her she looked beautiful and elegant, he only managed an "Yeah, you look okay." Earning him his very own pissed off Blue who was currently overly flirting with her "targets" simply to get back at him. Though annoyed, Red was competitive by nature and went off to find another waitress to woo in Blue's presence.

From her side of the ballroom, Blue gracefully left the still-swooning bartender with a wink to turn to the rest of the party. From the corner of her eye, she caught Red smiling and chatting to group of girls who weren't even Rockets. Feeling herself prickle, she turned toward the dance floor, hoping to find a new score surrounded by several slot machines and roulette tables.

_"Blue, Red, maybe you should focus more on the targets at hand than trying to out-sass each other?"_ came Yellow's voice from the headphone, and in her rage Blue shut her Pokégear off entirely, pulling it from her ear and sticking it beneath the bosom of her dress, like the lady she was.

Somehow through this sea of people, Blue managed to pick out a familiar head of green hair. Taking the hem of her gown into her hand, the brunette made her way toward the boy, gaining his attention by lightly tapping him on the shoulder.

"Hi N," she smiled when the older teen turned around. "Remember me?"

"Ah, the girl from the strange name club!" N said with a smile as he quickly gathered Blue up in an embrace that was rather bold for a second encounter. "Blue, yes?"

"Yes," she said, nodding as if she were in grade school. "What are you doing here? You enjoy moon rocks _and_ gambling?"

"Oh...my father has business relations with Rocket Enterprise," the boy said, his stare incredibly potent as Blue felt herself get lost in his seemingly bottomless green eyes. "It can be rather…"

"Boring?" Blue offered and the boy's attention perked as he attempted to smile, though it seemed unnecessarily forced. "Dull? Coma-like sleep inducing?"

"I was going to say lonely, but I suppose those work as well."

"Ah, N there you are," came a voice and Blue turned to see an older man with green-hair who must've been N's father. "I've been looking everywhere for you, my boy. Oh, but I see you've found yourself a pretty lady then, hm?"

"Uh...yes, father," N said, turning to Blue taking her by the hand, causing the girl to blush. "This is Blue, I met her while I was visiting the Pewter City Museum last month."

Really, it had only been a month? So much had happened since obtaining her Boulder Badge that Blue had lost track of time.

"Very nice to meet you," the green-haired man said and Blue curtsied politely. "My name is Ghetsis, I'm N's father. Well, I'd hate to bore you kids any further and I'm on my way out for some air - enjoy the party!"

N's intense stare followed his father as he walked away from them, only to snap back to Blue once the orchestra began to play. After a few moments of heavy (and kind of awkward) silence, he smiled.

"Would you like to dance with me, Blue?"

"Oh! Um...sure?" Blue said, taking the boy's hand gingerly. "Just so you're prepared, I've never done this before. I'm sorry to your feet in advance."

"My...feet?" N echoed and after a beat an enormous smile spread across his face. "You're still so cute!"

Blue felt her face heat as N turned to her, taking hold of her hand and leaving another on her waist as the music waltzed on.

"We'll do a simple box step," he assured her as he smiled, leading them. "It's simple, just follow me. You just step forwards with your left foot, then step to right side with your right foot. Perfect! Now let's move backwards - excellent!"

As he spoke, Blue felt N's hold on her tighten with his own excitement. Though incredibly weird, she had to admit there was something oddly alluring about the mysterious teen. She was just about to ask him more about himself when the song ended and N's attention was taken by someone tapping him on the shoulder. Looking over, Blue instantly recognized the face of Red.

"Evening," he smiled, motioning to Blue's hand. "Mind if I cut in?"

"Oh, of course," N said, before turning to Blue, taking her hand with a bow. "Until next time, Blue."

"Uh, yeah," she said as N walked away and felt Red take hold of her hand, pulling her much closer than N had.

"Hey, princess," he grinned and instantly she knew how pissed he was. "Having fun being the belle of the ball?"

"Maybe," Blue mumbled, turning away as Red lead them through another dance. "Did you enjoy flirting to those random hussies?"

"No, I rather have been with someone else," he said, his anger cooling slightly as he spun her around. As he pulled her back towards him, Blue felt her heart skip. She always forgot that he was way more graceful than his lazy facade liked to portray. "Sorry for before. You...you look beautiful."

"Thanks," she answered, looking away slightly. "I'm sorry for starting a fight with you."

"Well, that's good," he said, and though she was forgiven she knew his temper still was there in his words. "See, because I was on this mission to take card keys from Rockets so we could continue this silly little plan. Not that you would know about that-"

Blue's breath caught in her throat as Red pulled her earbud from the chest of her dress, knowing full-well the nerve to do so was from the faux-bravery from his seething anger prior. He placed it in her ear gently before lowing his other hand on her waist, his finger resting on the power switch beneath her gown. He leaned against her face, his breath hot against her ear.

"And don't be stupid with strangers," he whispered, and part of her couldn't help but notice the spice of jealousy in his voice. His finger flicked the power switch on her Pokégear and instantly Yellow's voice was blaring in her ear.

_"KETCHUM, YOU BETTER GET BLUE BACK ON THIS FREQUENCY THIS INSTANT OR SO HELP ME I WILL DRAG OAK DOWN FROM THIS VENT AND HAVE HIS VENUSAUR SOLAR BEAM YOU BOTH INTO THE NEXT CENTURY!"_

"Chill, she's back," Red said, his mouth close enough to Blue's ear that to everyone else it looked as if he was talking to her and not the two teenagers currently navigating the vents above the casino's main area.

"Sorry, my headphone slipped," Blue lied and by the 'humph!' noise from Yellow on the other end, it seemed to suffice. As the music stopped, Blue and Red's attention was brought to the stage where Butch, Cassidy and Erika stood. After a few moments of applause (which Butch could not join considering his lack of limb) the blue-haired man silenced the room so he could start a long and boring speech about how excited he was to partner his obviously disguised crime syndicates with one of the biggest cities in Kanto.

"This is the worse," Red murmured and Blue couldn't help but agree. "Green, what's the situation with our neighbors?"

_"You should be hearing their entrance in about,"_ Green's voice drawled, his voice echoed by vent. "_3...2...1..." _

There was a crash a heard next door and instantly all the attendees looked around for the source of the noise. There was another crash, this one sounding like the blast of an explosion.

_"And boom! That would be the sound of Blaine's Magmortar blasting through the middle of the building. Are Cassidy and Butch panicking yet?"_

"Not openly, but Cassidy just excused herself," Blue said, watching the stage. "Butch is trying to play it off as a special effect of the night. Erika is still up there."

"Should we get into position?" Red asked, looking around to see the waiters and waitresses seemingly disappear into the walls.

_"Yes, follow the two grunts with the cards you stole and take their uniforms. Before you enter the rooms, though, strike."_

"And you'll be okay up there?"

_"Don't worry about us, we'll be fine. Hit it."_

"Got it," Red said and instantly him and Blue were traveling through the sea of people, unseen in plain sight due to the crowd. As they neared the secret entrance they saw the grunts enter as a group, Red reached onto his belt as Blue pulled Jigglypuff's ball from her garter holster. Blushing slightly, his voice broke. "Ready?"

Blue nodded and tossed her ball behind her as they entered the room to see a handful of grunts, including their two targets from earlier, mid-dressed and shocked.

"Hey there, guys," Red smirked, pulling Pichu's ball from his hip before any of the grunts could even find their own Poké Balls. Within seconds the electric-type had stunned the group with a thunder wave attack. Grabbing a uniform from each sex, Red and Blue booked it down the hall, turning in to a corner to change quickly.

"Don't look!" Blue shot over her shoulder as she shimmed out of her dress, and Red felt his face warm.

"Pfft! I have better things to do than creep on you," he shot back as he undid his shirt and tie before jumping into the uniform's pants and top. Grabbing the hat, Red frowned slightly before Pichu jumped on his head and he topped himself with the cap._  
_

"You can't possibly be picky about the _hat_," Blue said, rolling her eyes as she adjusted her skirt. "Wow, you can totally tell Butch and Cassidy are bad guys because only a super villain would force girls to run around in mini-skirts."

Once they were settled, the two teens sprinted down the hallway to find the internment level.

Meanwhile, back in the main hall, Green and Yellow watched from the vent as Jigglypuff made its way to through crowd. It seemed as if everyone forgot about the blast as Butch continued his speech, though Erika looked less and less comfortable on the stage.

"I almost looks kind of fun down there," Green said, turning to the blonde next to him. "I mean, circumstances aside."

"Perhaps," Yellow said, with a nod. "Blue looked very nice in your aunt's dress. I'm sure you found her very attractive."

"Uh...I mean, sure since that was part of the plan," the boy said, his cheeks growing hot. "But...uh...Blue isn't the girl I...um...find most attractive."

Yellow remained quiet for a moment and Green felt his heart jump into his throat. Finally, the girl turned and made eye-contact with him, looking intense before she spoke.

"Well, after this you must introduce her to me - I need to approve her for security reasons," she said, completely serious. "You are my assignment after all."

Green felt himself almost face-fault, leave it to Yellow to completely misunderstand his compliment. He was broken from his thoughts when the girl tapped him on the shoulder and pointed out of the vent. From the tiny slivers, the teens watched as the round pink Pokémon jumped on stage, avoiding Butch's grasp as it grabbed his microphone.

"Alright, here we go," Green said, handing the blonde a pair of ear-plugs. Also seeing what attack Jigglypuff was about to preform, Butch sprinted off the stage and into the back-room of the hall, trampling over people as he went. Erika reached out to fairy-type, but it was too late - the song had already started.

_Jigg-a-ly-ypuff, jiggly, jigglypuff. Jigg-a-ly-ypuff, Jiggly!_

The teens watched as the attendees of the party fell one by one, including the Celadon City gym leader. Once the song had ended, they removed their ear-plugs and with a swift kick, Green broke through the ceiling and landed on the floor. Hopping from above, Yellow jumped into his embrace.

"Good job, Jigglypuff!" the blonde said to Jigglypuff as she climbed from Green's arms, completely unaware of how deeply he was blushing.

"Jiggly!" the pink Pokémon cheered, proud of itself as Yellow pet it.

"Okay, let's get Erika out of here and then meet up with the others," Green said as they ran to Erika's side. Luckily, the woman was tiny and Green was able to carry her on his back as they sprinted to the front. They barely exited the Game Corner when they were face-to-face with Officer Jenny and her men who were called due to the ongoing blasts in the Rocket Enterprise building next door. In the corner of his eye, Green was able to make out the smoke and destruction no doubt caused by Blaine and Ash's Pokémon.

"Hold it right there, kids!" Jenny yelled, running over to Green to take the gym leader from his back. "What are you doing?!"

"We saw that there was trouble so we ran inside to help," Yellow said, her acting far better than Green's. "There are people still inside, but I think something happened as they all collapsed!"

"Right," the blue-haired officer said, sending a signal to her men. "You kids better get out of here, this is no place to play hero."

Stepping aside to let the police through, Green and Yellow waited for them to pass before quickly making their way to the back of the building, climbing over a fence and being lucky enough that all of the Rocket's grunts were currently in the second building. Seeing the back entrance, Yellow pulled out her tiny computer again and this time connected it to the card detector. Within a moment, the lock was broken and the door opened to reveal an elevator. Taking Jigglypuff into his arms, Green followed Yellow inside as they dropped down low to where his father and the other were hopefully being held.


End file.
